Document 52016PC0134

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/2011 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/2011 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005

on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/2011 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005

{SWD(2016) 56 final}{SWD(2016) 57 final}

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL

•Reasons for and objectives of the proposal

Technical measures are rules governing how and where fishermen may fish. They aim to control the catch that can be taken with a given amount of fishing effort and also to minimise the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem. They form an integral part of the regulatory framework of most fisheries management systems including within Union waters.

Technical measures can be grouped into:

–measures that regulate the operation of the gear;

–measures that regulate the design characteristics of the gears that are deployed;

–minimum sizes below which fish must be returned to the sea;

–measures that set spatial and temporal controls (e.g. closed/limited entry areas and seasonal closures) to protect aggregations of juvenile or spawning fish; and

The history of technical measures applying in European fisheries legislation within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is one of numerous regulations, amendments, implementing rules and temporary technical measures introduced as stop-gaps to resolve emerging problems. Across all Union sea basins and non-Union waters in which Union vessels operate there are more than 30 regulations which contain technical measures.

Currently there are three detailed technical measures regulations enacted under the ordinary legislative procedure covering the main sea basins in Union waters – Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms covering the North-east Atlantic (and the Black Sea since 2012); Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94; and Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound, amending Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 88/98.

In addition to those regulations there are a number of Commission acts which contain detailed rules on the construction of gears (e.g. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3440/84 of 6 December 1984 on the attachment of devices to trawls, Danish seines and similar nets) or relating to specific area closures (e.g. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1922/1999 of 8 September 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 as regards conditions under which vessels exceeding eight metres length overall shall be permitted to use beam trawls within certain waters of the Community) as well as technical measures introduced to alleviate immediate threats to conservation following from depletion of certain stocks (e.g. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2056/2001 of 19 October 2001 establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stocks of cod in the North Sea and to the west of Scotland). These regulations generally emanate from empowerments contained in the main regulations.

There are also a number of other standalone regulations which contain technical measures. These include Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 of 26 April 2004 laying down measures concerning bycatches of cetaceans in fisheries and amending Regulation (EC) No 88/98 and Council Regulation (EC) No 1185/2003 of 26 June 2003 on the removal of fins of sharks on board vessels.

There are several co-decided regulations that transpose technical measures agreed for third-country waters covered under Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) such as the Convention on Conservation on Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCALMR) and the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) among others. These regulations are not covered under the scope of this proposal.

Before the entry into force of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) technical measures were also included in Fishing Opportunities Regulations setting annual TACs and quotas in the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic, and the Black Sea as well as for deep-sea species. These were a mixture of supposedly temporary technical measures with a mixture of regionally specific measures and derogations from general provisions contained in other regulations. Following the adoption of the TFEU such measures could no longer be included in the Fishing Opportunities Regulations except for those measures with a direct functional link to the catch limits for a particular stock or stocks. Therefore only a limited number of such measures are now contained in the Fishing Opportunities Regulations. For example there is a closed area off the west coast of Ireland to protect Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) relating to the TAC for this species in this area. Measures emanating from other RFMOS such as Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) are also still included in the Fishing Opportunities Regulation for the North-east Atlantic as temporary measures.

As this illustrates the regulatory structure for technical measures has become highly complex and somewhat dis-jointed. A retrospective evaluation1 carried out to support this proposal has shown that the current technical measures have largely not delivered on the objectives of the previous CFP – Council Regulation (EC) 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy. This is more evident in some sea basins than others (e.g. North-east Atlantic) but the general perception is one of multiple complex and ineffective rules contained in an inflexible governance structure.

With the new challenges of the new CFP2, which came into force on 1 January 2014, the retrospective evaluation concluded that the current regulatory structure for technical measures will continue to be sub-optimal. This is because of five identifiable problems:

(1)Sub-optimal performance: Technical measures provide little incentive to fish selectively where there is no cost to discarding, or of catching sensitive species or impacting adversely on the seabed. This has resulted in a failure to control fishing pressure leading to overfishing of a number of stocks and to high levels of discards in some fisheries and limited protection afforded to sensitive habitats and species. Additionally some measures have created legal obstacles or discouraged innovation for the development of more selective fishing practices with the result that circumvention, both legally and illegally, to minimise the economic impacts of measures has been common.

(2)Difficult to measure effectiveness: The current regulations do not contain any defined metrics on which to measure success. This has made it difficult to measure the effectiveness of technical measures in contributing to the achievement of the conservation objectives of the CFP.

(3)Prescriptive and complex rules: Technical measures have become more numerous and complex over time and attempted to control too many technical aspects of fishing operations. Some are difficult for control authorities to enforce, and for fishermen to comply with. They impose high administrative burden and costs on Member States and stakeholders. This has undermined the catching sector's confidence and provided a strong incentive to negate the regulations resulting in the adoption of more legislation to counter negation of the rules.

(4)Lack of flexibility: Technical measures are mostly decided following a complex, inflexible and lengthy politically-driven process which is not well suited to defining detailed technical rules that need frequent updating and periodic review. This has restricted the ability to adjust or revise technical measures to react to changes in fisheries or to take advantage of innovation in gear technology or to react to unexpected events. In addition temporary rules or derogations have remained in place unchanged for long periods further undermining the confidence of the catching sector.

(5)Insufficient involvement of key stakeholders in the decision-making process: Technical measures are based on negative, mostly coercive incentives in a hierarchical governance system (i.e. top-down rather than bottom-up). This has led to the perception by fishermen and stakeholders that they are not part of a participatory process. Fishermen perceive that technical measures are impractical, do not represent current fishing practice and are sometimes contradictory.

During the negotiations of the new CFP there was a general consensus amongst Member States, stakeholders and the European Parliament confirming this rather negative perception of the current technical measures. This was despite the fact that no political agreement for a new package of measures had been reached in the last ten years, previous Commission proposals in 20023 and in 20084 having failed for a number of reasons. Member States argued that the text had grown too complicated and difficult to interpret and that those proposals did not address the underlying problems sufficiently. Stakeholders argued that they were not properly consulted and the rules went further than simple consolidations of existing measures. Even attempts to align the technical measures regulations in the Northeast Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) have failed because negotiations have tended to move away from alignment to the detailed substance of these regulations.

These repeated failures to reach agreement on a new technical measures regulation clearly highlight the need for a new approach. This should be based on simplification, adaptation of decision-making to the Lisbon Treaty, strengthening the long-term approach to conservation and resource management including tackling the discards problem, regionalisation, further stakeholder involvement and more industry responsibility (i.e. a culture of compliance).

In addressing these problems and recognising these institutional difficulties this proposal aims to:

–Optimise the contribution of technical measures to achieving the key objectives of the new CFP.

–Create the flexibility required to adjust technical measures by facilitating regionalised approaches (consistent with the objectives in Union law).

–Simplify the current rules in line with the Commission's REFIT programme5.

While this proposal principally changes the governance structure of technical measures rather than making wholesale changes to the measures themselves, the improved flexibility and incentives for fishing selectivity it introduces will deliver improvements in the effectiveness of technical measures. Over time yields will be optimised through the catching of larger fish and the impacts of fishing on the marine ecosystem will be reduced through the adoption of responsible fishing practices.

•Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area

Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 204/585/ECsets the general framework for the CFP. Technical measures sit within this framework as tools for contributing to the achievement of the overall objectives of the CFP as follows:

(1)The attainment of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) will be facilitated by the application of technical measures which regulate exploitation pattern (i.e. how fishing pressure is distributed across the age profile of a stock). Obtaining MSY from a given stock will require that the exploitation pattern avoids fishing on younger age groups. To achieve this will require a combination of effective technical measures (i.e. measures that regulate the operation and design of the gear, minimum conservation reference sizes (mcrs) and spatial/temporal closures) that lead to improvements in exploitation patterns in an adaptive regulatory structure.

(2)The gradual elimination of discards and minimisation of unwanted catches will require the application of technical (gear operation and design) as well as tactical changes (closed or restricted areas) to drive increased selectivity and avoidance of unwanted catches (i.e. fish below mcrs). The landing obligation introduced to achieve this objective will require a rethink on the current governance structure of technical measures to allow for more flexibility to achieve this goal.

(3)Ensuring fishing activities are consistent with wider ecological considerations will depend on the application of technical measures that minimise the impacts of fishing gears on the ecosystem (e.g. mitigation measures or closed areas). Specifically technical measures must contribute to the attainment of good environmental status with respect to 4 out of the 11 descriptors included under Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive)- Maintaining biological diversity (Descriptor 1); Maintaining commercially-exploited populations of fish and shellfish within safe biological limits and with a healthy age and size distribution (Descriptor 3); Maintaining all elements of marine food webs at normal abundance and diversity (Descriptor 4); and Maintaining sea-floor integrity (Descriptor 6). The key challenge will be creating a framework for implementing such measures in such a way as they most effectively protect the species most at risk and sensitive habitats and areas in need of protection.

In addition to these objectives the new CFP promotes regionalisation as a new governance approach. Regionalisation provides an important opportunity to introduce simplification of the rules set by the legislator and particularly relevant for the future use of technical measures as management tools, since part of the problem of the effectiveness of the technical measures is related to the governance structure they operate in. Regionalisation will allow the development of technical measures at regional level (i.e. ultimately under the umbrella of multiannual plans or in the short-term through other Union measures). Regionalisation also gives scope to limit the need for detailed technical measures adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers under co-decision. Within a simplified legal framework defined by the legislator, measures can be regionally devised and tailor-made to the specificities of different fisheries. Regionalisation also provides an opportunity to utilise technical measures much more as a driver for the achievement of sustainable fisheries rather than simply as restrictive and coercive measures complementing fishing opportunities and effort restrictions. Regionalised decision-making also avoids having to make frequent changes to the substance of technical measures contained in co-decided acts.

•Consistency with other Union policies

The proposal and its objectives are consistent with Union policy. In particular with legal obligations contained in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds and Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (Water Framework Directive). The full implementation of these Directives is part of the EU’s response to its commitments under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and is reinforced by the commitment made by EU Heads of State "to halt the loss of biodiversity [in the EU] by 2010"; it is further reiterated in the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 20206.

Technical measures have also the potential to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy7, in particular its resource efficiency flagship initiative through better use of fish stocks. In addition, the reform of technical measures will contribute to the REFIT programme through the simplification and deletion of a number of existing regulations and specific measures.

2.LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY

•Legal basis

The legal basis is Article 43(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

•Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)

The provisions of this proposal relate to the conservation of marine biological resources that falls under the exclusive competence of the Union. Consequently the subsidiarity principle does not apply.

•Proportionality

This proposal is amending measures which already exist; therefore no concern on the proportionality principle arises. The proposed measures comply with the proportionality principle as they are appropriate and necessary. No other less restrictive measures are available to obtain the desired policy objectives.

•Choice of the instrument

Proposed instrument: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Other means would not be adequate for the following reason: Regulations must be amended by a Regulation.

In December 2012, an evaluation of technical measures was carried out. This consisted of a retrospective evaluation1 of the existing technical measures regulations in place in terms of their relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and acceptance. During the course of this evaluation extensive consultations were held with representatives of the fishing industry, national administrations and the research agencies of Member States. This was completed in June 2013. It was followed by a prospective evaluation1 of the likely economic, social and environmental impacts as well as the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and acceptability of different defined policy options. This study was completed in July 2014.

The restrospective evaluation confirmed that the current technical measures are overly complex and have been largely ineffective. They do not have clear, well-defined objectives and targets nor do they provide positive incentives which reward responsible practices and incentivise compliance. Control of the measures is costly and the governance structure they operate in currently is inflexible and very much top-down with limited consultation with stakeholders.

The prospective evaluation concluded that results-based management may be the best approach for future technical measures if control and enforcement problems can be solved. In such an approach, there should be less of a need for multiple prescriptive technical measures regulations.

•Stakeholder consultations

An internet-based public consultation was held from January to May 20148. Detailed contributionswerereceived from the key stakeholders ((i.e. Member States, the European Parliament, Advisory Councils, the catching sector and NGOs)9. The main conclusions, which largely concurred with the findings of the retrospective and prospective evaluation were as follows:

(2)Fishermen should become more accountable for what they catch rather than the construction and operation of the fishing gears they deploy.

(3)Simplification of the rules is a fundamental objective but simplification should not create inequalities in the management systems across Member States (“maintaining a level playing field”).

(4)Regionalisation is seen as an important opportunity to introduce simplification of technical measures regulations.

(5)A framework approach is preferred. This should contain overarching objectives and minimum common standards to be applied across the EU. It should also contain safeguards to ensure action can be taken if problems in fisheries emerge.

(6)Improvements in selectivity have been achieved in the past when incentive structures have been aligned with management objectives. Such structures need to be built-in to any new regulatory framework for technical measures.

Apart from the public consultation, numerous workshops, consultations and meetings were held during the period from 2011 to early 2015 with the key stakeholders. The combination of the public consultation and the extensive follow-up dialogue with the key stakeholders (i.e. the catching sector, NGOs and Member States) have ensured that the views expressed fully represent the different stakeholder groups.

•Collection and use of expertise

Three meetings of an Expert Working Group (EWG) of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) were convened in October 201210, March 201311 and March 201512. These meetings explored the potential of technical measures as a management tool in the context of the CFP. The findings of these reports helped to define the options that were considered in the prospective evaluation carried out as well as providing information for the development of the proposal.

In addition to these meetings, several ad-hoc requests were made to STECF and also the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on specific issues relating to fishing gear selectivity; replacing mesh size and catch composition rules; bycatch of marine mammals and other protected species; and on existing closed and restricted areas. These also provided guidance in the drafting of the proposal.

•Impact assessment

An Impact Assessment (IA) has been conducted, taking account of the information from the public and follow-up targeted consultations, retrospective and prospective evaluations, expert advice, comments from the Impact Assessment Steering Group (IASG) set up to support this initiative and the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB).

For the IA, three policy options and one sub-option were considered against the baseline scenario as those most likely to achieve the objectives and address the problems identified.

–Baseline situation: The current regulations with the CFP as the central element remain in place, elaborated in a series of technical and other conservation regulations surrounding the CFP The baseline would take account of recent adjustments that remove legal contradictions with new obligations under the CFP (the landing obligation, and alignment with the TFEU concerning establishment of current Commission empowerments). Regionalisation of technical measures would take place through discard plans or multiannual plans, expanding the 'web' of regulations further and adding on new rules that derogate from or amend existing technical rules.

–Consolidation: A new regulation with a limited scope consolidating in one Regulation the common rules for all fisheries in all areas (e.g. generic prohibitions on certain fishing methods).Common rules (under co-decision) would be separated from rules with potential for regionalisation. The latter technical rules would remain in place in the existing regulations (co-decision and Commission acts). Any recent amendments or changes to the regulations and alignment of the regulations with the TFEU would be included. Regionalisation of technical measures would be through discard plans adopted by the Commission as Delegated Acts, and through Delegated Acts adopted by the Commission on the basis of the new, co-decided multiannual plans. These Delegated Acts would introduce (temporary) derogations from and amendments to the existing rules. Regionalisation would happen if and where the Member States submit joint recommendations for discard plans on a temporary basis for a maximum duration of 3 years. After that period, maintaining these derogations in place would require the adoption of Delegated Acts that are adopted by virtue of an empowerment in an EU multiannual plan.

–Framework Approach: A new framework Regulation containing a) general provisions (scope, objectives, guiding principles) and definition of the expected results and corresponding standards; b) common rules and technical provisions (as in option 1); and c) baseline standards (by region) corresponding to identified results which would function as default measures in the context of regionalisation. The baseline standards would be based on the substance of the existing rules and would principally replace the current mesh size and catch composition rules, convert the current minimum sizes into minimum conservation reference sizes, maintain closures needed to protect aggregations of juveniles and spawning fish as well as any other regionally specific technical rules. The structure would be recast (one single regulation instead of the numerous regulations in place). Many existing regulations would be repealed and integrated and/or rationalized in the new framework. The baselines and default technical measures that correspond to these objectives would be applicable unless and until regionalised measures are designed and introduced into Union law (through Delegated Acts). Where no regionalised action is developed, the baselines would continue to function as default rules. Member States would have options to move further away from more rigid technical rules (the default measures) towards a more flexible, results-based management approach under regionalisation to meet the projected results and objectives of a plan.

–Framework without baselines: The main elements of the framework would be maintained except for the baseline measures. An empowerment would be included for the development of specific measures under regionalisation. This empowerment would allow for the establishment of measures required regionally to meet the objective of the CFP through Delegated Acts as part of the discard and multiannual plans.

–Elimination of the existing rules: Most of the existing technical measures regulations would be repealed immediately, with an exception for essential nature conservation measures which would remain in place. Any technical measures necessary in the longer term would be developed regionally under multiannual plans (with the possibility of temporarily incorporating technical measures into discard plans in the short term). There would be no framework regulation under this option.

Comparison of options

The framework approach with baseline standards was evaluated to best meet the objectives set and provide a level of security that conservation objectives will continue to be met while regionalisation develops. In the longer-term (at the latest by 2022) it aims to have any technical measures required included under regional plans. It is best geared to managing this transition to regionalisation in the period up to 2022.

The framework without baselines and the elimination of technical measures would bring about simplification of technical measures immediately which would find favour with the catching sector but are both riskier options. They represent a drastic change in governance implying a shift in the burden of proof to all fishermen (and Member States). They would rely on fishermen documenting and demonstrating transparently that they are meeting the general objectives and agreed results (under the CFP) and the specific objectives and results identified in multiannual plans. They rely on immediate behavioural change of fishermen and on peer-pressure and self-regulation to ensure unselective fishing practices do not prevail. Member States, some sections of the catching sector and NGOs seem reluctant to move in this direction at least in the short-term.

Consolidation of technical measures was the least favoured option. It essentially maintains the current complex regulatory structure in place and does not provide any clear incentives for stakeholders over and above the baseline scenario. It is also not fully coherent with the spirit of regionalisation as envisaged under the CFP.

Summary of Impacts

The preferred option largely presents changes to the regulatory structure and governance of technical measures. Few new measures are introduced and any changes to the substance are very much about deletion of rules in order to simplify and lessen administrative burden, improve controllability or consolidate nature conservation measures. Therefore the analysis of impacts in the IA was based on a qualitative assessment supported with specific examples or case studies. The main impacts are as follows:

Economic

The economic impacts of the framework approach would be positive. The framework approach would drive regionalisation. The increased flexibility and greater stakeholder participation in developing technical measures afforded by regionalisation should incentivise the adoption of selective gears more rapidly than other policy options. This will help to deliver MSY and reductions in unwanted catches with corresponding benefits in economic terms from increased fishing opportunities. This would steadily improve over time, particularly if selective fishing is rewarded by Member States with increased fishing opportunities allowed for under the CFP.

Social

Employment in the catching sector is likely to reduce in the short-term as the catching sector adjusts to the challenges of moving to MSY and the landing obligation. However, assuming that regionalisation is accelerated and the most concerned fleet segments notably those targeting mixed demersal species would strive to improve selectivity quickly, any negative impacts would be counteracted more quickly. Employment levels would stabilise. In the longer-term once sustainable fishing is achieved, fishing opportunities will increase (by at least 20% by 2020). Such significant increase has the potential to create new jobs in the catching sector. Fishing sustainably will lead to increase income and wages and therefore job attractiveness.

Environmental

Any negative, short-term impacts are likely to be negated quicker than under the other options considered. The framework would manage the transition to regionalisation and, through the inclusion of baseline standards and retention of existing technical measures that are still necessary, ensure that the environmental sustainability objectives of the CFP are not jeopardised. In the longer-term regionalisation should lead to the development of measures within an adaptive governance framework that will be more responsive and anticipatory to threats to marine ecosystems and allow the taking of protective measures expediently.

•Regulatory fitness and simplification

Simplification

Simplification of the existing regulations is a primary objective of this proposal. The new framework will replace 6 co-decided regulations by one regulation with 3 other Regulations being partially repealed or amended. It also will lead to the repealing of up to 10 supporting Commission Regulations. Certain elements of these regulations will be brought under the framework proposal pending regionalisation. This allows for a second level of simplification in two main areas. Firstly almost half of the 40 existing closed or restricted areas relating to the protection of juveniles and spawning aggregations are deleted or simplified. This is based on advice from STECF, taking account of comments received by Member States and stakeholders. The second area of simplification is in the complex mesh size and catch composition tables in the existing regulations for the northeast Atlantic and Baltic. In each region these have been simplified into a default baseline mesh size for towed and static gears based on existing exploitation patterns with several derogations allowing the use of smaller mesh size gears to maintain important fisheries.

SMEs

The catching sector comprising around 82,000 vessels and employing 98,500 Full-time equivalents (FTE) is the most affected by potential changes to the technical measures regulations.Of these approximate 82,000 fishing vessels, almost 98% of them would be classified as micro-enterprises employing fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover and/or annual balance sheet total does not exceed €2 million. With such a high proportion of the sector being micro-enterprises exempting them from this proposal would undermine the conservation objectives of the CFP as few fishing enterprises would be governed by the general rules.

The impacts on SMEs in terms of administrative costs and burden would be positive in that there would be immediate simplification of the current regulations and a greater role for the catching sector through the Advisory Councils in the development of technical measures going forward. In addition the potential move to a results-based system in the longer-term would lead to further simplification of the technical rules. This implies a shift in the burden of proof onto the catching sector and put onus on them to demonstrate and document catches accurately. Potentially this may increase costs associated with documentation of catches although the costs incurred would depend on the approach of the Member States to “regionalised control” and offset against the greater flexibility such an approach would afford.

•Fundamental rights

This proposal has no consequences for the protection of fundamental rights.

Under the preferred option clear targets would be established for the reduction and as far as possible elimination of unwanted catches by 2019 and fishing at MSY for all stocks by 2020. Targets for the reduction of the negative impacts of fishing on marine ecosystems would also be established to contribute to the achievement of good environmental status by 2020. In order to measure achievement of these targets the following environmental, economic, social and compliance indicators for monitoring technical measures are proposed:

Environmental: evolution of catch profiles, number of stocks at MSY and evolution of bycatches of sensitive species and protection of sensitive habitats

Compliance: number of infringements related to technical rules and at-sea patrol days.

Data for monitoring would be available under the existing Data Collection Framework (DCF)13, from advice from the STECF and ICES as well as from annual reports from the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).

Evaluation

An ex-post evaluation discussing the key evaluation questions of technical measures should be carried out before 2022 when the landing obligation should be fully operational, MSY achieved for all stocks and good environmental status achieved for marine ecosystems. This evaluation would directly feed into the retrospective evaluation of the CFP scheduled to begin in 2022.

The new multiannual plans will periodically be assessed by STECF and ICES to measure whether sustainability objectives are being achieved. These evaluations will provide indications of whether technical measures included as part of these plans are effective.

Reporting requirements under Articles 49 (functioning of the CFP) and Article 50 (progress on achieving MSY) of the CFP, while not directly related to technical measures, will also provide insight into the effectiveness of technical measures.

Measures developed regionally will also have to be evaluated on a regular basis by STECF or ICES to ensure such measures are consistent with objectives of the CFP.

Annual Reports of the EFCA in relation to Joint Deployment Programmes (JDPs) document the number and reasons for infringements detected compared to the number and nature of inspections carried out. These provide an indication of the level of compliance with the technical measures regulations.

Reporting

By the end of 2020 and every third year thereafter, the Commission will report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation including an assessment of the impact of technical measures on the conservation of fisheries resources and on the environmental impacts of fisheries on marine ecosystems. On the basis of that report, the Commission will propose any necessary amendments.

•Explanatory documents (for directives)

Not applicable.

•Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal

The proposal has the following structure:

General Provisions – contains the scope, overarching and specific objectives, targets linked to the general and specific objectives expressed in terms of levels of unwanted catches; thresholds for bycatches of sensitive species; and reduction in the extent of the seabed significantly affected by fishing; principles of good governance and definitions. The definitions relate primarily to the definition of fishing gears and fishing operations and are common to all regions. They consolidate and update the existing definitions contained in the existing Regulations.

Common Technical Measures – contains common rules currently contained in all of the primary technical measures regulations but applicable to all sea basins and considered as de facto permanent as there is no need or justification for changing them. The provisions included under this part are

–prohibited gears and practices including prohibition on the sale of marine species caught using certain gear types,

–measures to protect sensitive species (e.g. marine mammals, reptiles and seabirds) and habitats (e.g. coldwater corals) including those listed in the Habitats and Birds Directives;

–general restrictions on the use of towed gears and conditions for their use (covers basic codend construction and permissible attachments to fishing gears);

–restrictions on the use of static nets. This includes the consolidation of the existing restrictions on the use of driftnets (i.e. prohibition to use drift nets above 2.5km, prohibition on using such gears to target highly migratory species and the total prohibition on the use of driftnets in the Baltic). Under regionalisation Member States should strengthen these provisions up to and including the introduction of a total prohibition on the use of such gears where there is scientific evidence that shows the continued use of driftnets constitutes a threat to the conservation status of sensitive species in that region;

–common measures to reduce discarding (highgrading, slipping, protection for species not under catch limits).

Regionalisation – sets the general principles for regionalisation with reference to baseline measures which will apply where no regional measures are in places and establishes the empowerments needed for regionalisation of technical measures through multiannual plans, temporary discard plans and conservation measures necessary for compliance with obligations under environmental legislation. The empowerments allow the development of regional measures based on joint recommendations submitted by regional groups of Member States that amend/derogate from the existing baseline measures, establish new measures or derogate measures provided that it can be demonstrated such measures have no conservation benefit or that alternative measures have been put in place. These empowerments emanate from the CFP. The regional measures that can be taken under temporary discard plans are also defined, as well as safeguards that will be taken if scientific evidence shows that the conservation objectives are not being met by the regional measures. To this effect, a safeguard clause is included that allows the Commission to act where available scientific advice indicates that immediate action is required to protect marine species. This allows the Commission to establish technical measures to alleviate such threats, in addition to or by way of derogation to this Regulation or technical measures otherwise fixed in accordance with Union law. Such measures could include restrictions on the use fishing gears or on fishing activities in certain areas or during certain periods.

Technical Measures in non-Union waters: contains an empowerment for the Commission to adopt delegated acts in respect of existing detailed rules concerning lists of vulnerable marine ecosystems and also specific technical measures related to defined fisheries for blue ling and redfish agreed by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). It further allows, through amendment of the corresponding Regulation, the Commission to adopt delegated acts in respect of existing technical measures in Regulation (EU) No 1343/201114 on the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). It also allows the Commission to incorporate into Union law future amendments of those measures adopted by NEAFC and also measures adopted by the GFCM. Currently no such empowerments exist.

Technical Provisions - contains common provisions for conducting scientific research and also for the artificial restocking and transplantation of marine species.

Procedural Provisions - contains the exercise of delegation with respect to the delegated acts contained in the proposal and also the committee procedure in respect of implementing acts.

Final Provisions – contains the repeals and amendments to the relevant regulations as well as the review and reporting process.

Annexes – The Annexes contain baseline measures by sea basin (i.e. North Sea, Baltic, Northwestern waters, Southwestern waters, Mediterranean, Black Sea and the outermost regions). These baseline measures will apply in the absence of measures being put in place regionally. They include baseline mesh sizes, minimum conservation reference sizes, closed or restricted areas to protect juveniles and spawning fish and any other regionally specific measures. There are also annexes containing a list of prohibited species that if caught as bycatches must be returned immediately to the sea; closed areas established for the protection of sensitive habitats and a list of species that are prohibited for capture with driftnets.

2016/0074 (COD)

Proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/2011 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 43(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee15,

(1)Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council17 establishes a Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources.

(2)Technical measures are tools to support the implementation of the CFP. However, a retrospective evaluation has shown that their current regulatory structure is unlikely to deliver on the objectives of the CFP and a new approach should be taken to increase their effectiveness focusing on adapting the governance structure.

(3)There is a need to develop a framework for the regulation of technical measures. That framework should establish general rules to apply across all Union waters and provide for the creation of technical measures that take account of the regional specificities of fisheries through the process of regionalisation introduced by the CFP.

(4)The framework should cover the taking and landing of fisheries resources as well as the operation of fishing gears and the interaction of fishing activities with marine ecosystems.

(5)It should apply to fishing operations conducted in Union waters by Union and non-Union vessels and nationals of Member States (without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the flag State) as well as to Union vessels operating in the outermost regions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 349 of the Treaty. It should also apply in non-Union waters to technical measures adopted for the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) Regulatory area and in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) Agreement area.

(6)Technical measures where relevant should apply to recreational fisheries which can have a significant impact on the stocks of fish and shellfish species.

(7)Technical measures should contribute to achieving the CFP objectives to fish at maximum sustainable yield levels, reduce unwanted catches and eliminate discards and to contribute to the achievement of good environmental status (GES) as set out in Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council18.

(8)Technical measures should specifically provide protection for juveniles and spawning aggregations of fish through the use of selective fishing gears and avoidance measures. Technical measures should also minimise and eliminate where possible, the impacts of fishing gears on the marine ecosystem and in particular on sensitive species and habitats. They should also contribute to having in place management measures for the purposes of complying with obligations under Council Directive 92/43/EEC19, Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 20 and Directive 2008/56/EC.

(9)To evaluate the effectiveness of technical measures, targets relating to the levels of unwanted catches; to the level of bycatches of sensitive species and to the extent of seabed habitats adversely affected by fishing; should be established that reflect the objectives of the CFP, Union environmental legislation (in particular Council Directive 92/43 and Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council21), and international best practice.

(10)In order to ensure uniformity in the understanding and implementation of technical rules, definitions of fishing gears and operations contained in existing technical measures regulations should be updated and consolidated.

(11)Certain destructive fishing gears or methods which use explosives, poisons, stupefying substances, electric current, pneumatic hammers or other percussive instruments; towed devices and grabs for harvesting red coral or other type of corals and coral-like species and certain spear-guns should be prohibited except in the specific case of the electric pulse trawl which may be used under certain strict conditions.

(12)In light of advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), certain common rules defining restrictions on the use of towed gears and on the construction of codends should be established to prevent bad practice that leads to unselective fishing.

(13)In order to restrict the use of driftnets which can fish over large areas and result in significant catches of sensitive species the existing restrictions on using such gears should be consolidated.

(14)In light of advice from STECF, fishing with static nets in ICES divisions IIIa, VIa, VIb, VIIb, VIIc, VIIj and VIIk and ICES sub-areas VIII, IX, X and XII east of 27° W in waters with a charted depth of more than 600 metres should continue to be prohibited to provide protection for sensitive deep-sea species.

(15)For certain rare fish species, such as species of sharks and rays, even limited fishing activity could result in a serious risk to their conservation. To protect such species a general prohibition on fishing for them should be introduced.

(16)To afford the strict protection for sensitive marine species such as marine mammals, seabirds and marine reptiles provided for in Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC, Member States should put in place mitigation measures to minimise and where possible eliminate the catches of those species from fishing gears.

(17)In order to provide continued protection for sensitive marine habitats located off the coasts of Ireland, the United Kingdom and around the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands existing restrictions on the use of demersal fishing gears should be maintained.

(18)Where scientific advice and technical information identifies other such areas, then similar restrictions should be introduced to protect these habitats.

(19)In accordance with the CFP, minimum conservation reference sizes should be established to ensure the protection of juveniles of marine species and in establishing fish stock recovery areas.

(20)The manner in which the size of marine species is to be measured should be defined.

(21)In order to assist the catching sector implement the landing obligation, Member States should put in place measures to facilitate the storage and the finding of outlets for marine species which are below the minimum conservation reference size. These measures should include support for investment in the construction and adaptation of landing sites and shelters or support for investment to add value to fishery products.

(22)The practises of highgrading and slipping should be prohibited except in cases where exemptions are introduced under the landing obligation.

(23)In cases where scientific advice indicates that there are significant unwanted catches of species which are not subject to catch limits and therefore not subject to the application of the landing obligation, Member States should carry out pilot projects with the aim of exploring ways to reduce such catches and with a view to introducing appropriate technical measures to achieve this aim.

(24)Where no technical measures are in place at regional level then defined baseline standards should apply. Those baseline standards should be derived from existing technical measures, taking account of STECF advice and the opinions of stakeholders. They should consist of baseline mesh sizes for towed gears and static nets, minimum conservation reference sizes, closed or restricted areas, nature conservation measures to mitigate against bycatches of marine mammals and seabirds in certain areas and any other regionally specific measures currently in existence that are still required to ensure conservation objectives continue to be met until such times measures are put in place under regionalisation.

(25)Member States in conjunction with stakeholders can develop joint recommendations for appropriate technical measures that deviate from the baselines in accordance with the regionalisation process set out in the CFP.

(26)Such regional technical measures should as a minimum be equivalent in terms of exploitation patterns and protection for sensitive species and habitats as the baseline standards.

(27)The main instrument for establishing regional technical measures should be through multiannual plans as defined in the CFP. Under such multiannual plans the baseline standards may be amended, new measures established to supplement or replace the baseline standards or derogate from these measures where it can be demonstrated they have no conservation benefit or that alternative measures have been put in place that ensure the objectives and targets continue to be met. In accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, multiannual plans may also contain other nature conservation measures to minimise the negative impact of fishing on the ecosystem, such as the ones necessary for the purpose of complying with the obligations under Article 13(4) of Directive 2008/56/EC, Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC or Article 6 of Directive 92/43/EEC.

(28)In developing joint recommendations to adopt alternative size and species selective gears to the baseline mesh sizes in multiannual plans regional groups of Member States should ensure that such gears result in, as a minimum, similar or improved selectivity patterns as the baseline gears.

(29)In developing joint recommendations to amend or establish new closed or restricted areas in multiannual plans to protect juveniles and spawning aggregations, regional groups of Member States should define the specifications, extent, duration, gear restrictions and control and monitoring arrangements in their joint recommendations.

(30)In developing joint recommendations to amend or establish minimum conservation reference sizes in multiannual plans, regional groups of Member States should ensure the objectives of the CFP are not jeopardised by ensuring that the protection of juveniles of marine species should be respected while ensuring that no distortion is introduced into the market and that no market for fish below minimum conservation reference sizes is created.

(31)The creation of real-time closures in conjunction with moving-on provisions as an additional measure for the protection of juveniles or spawning aggregations should be allowed as an option to be developed under joint recommendations. The conditions for the establishment and lifting of such areas as well as the control and monitoring arrangements should be defined in the relevant joint recommendations.

(32)On the basis of scientific assessment of the impacts of innovative gears, duly evaluated by the STECF, the use of such or extension to the use of novel gears, such as the electric pulse trawl could be included as an option in joint recommendations from regional groups of Member States. The use of innovative fishing gears should not be permitted where scientific assessment indicates that their use will lead to negative impacts on sensitive habitats and non-target species.

(33)In order to minimise the bycatches of sensitive species and impacts of fishing gears on sensitive habitats, regional groups of Member States should develop additional mitigation measures to reduce the impacts of fishing on sensitive species and habitats. Where scientific evidence shows that there is a serious threat to the conservation status of such species and habitats then Member States should introduce additional restrictions on the construction and operation of certain fishing gears or even the introduction of a total prohibition on their use in that region. In particular such provisions could be applied to the use of driftnets which in certain areas has resulted in significant catches of cetaceans and seabirds.

(34)Where no multiannual plan is in place Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 allows for the establishment of temporary discard plans for the implementation of the landing obligation. As part of such plans it should be allowed to establish technical measures which are strictly linked to the implementation of the landing obligation and which aim to increase selectivity and reduce unwanted catches as much as possible.

(35)In order to maintain existing detailed recommendations agreed by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of lists of vulnerable marine ecosystems and also specific technical measures related to defined measures to protect blue ling and redfish. The Commission should also be empowered to adopt delegated acts in respect of the incorporation into Union law of future amendments of those measures adopted by NEAFC which form the subject matter of certain expressly defined non-essential elements of this Regulation and which become binding upon the Union in accordance with the terms of this Convention. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

(36)In order not to hinder scientific research, artificial restocking and transplantation, the provisions of this Regulation should not apply to operations which may be necessary for the conducting of such activities.

(37)Where available scientific advice indicates that immediate action is required to protect marine species, the Commission should be able in duly justified cases to adopt immediately applicable delegated acts establishing technical measures to alleviate such threats, in addition to or by way of derogation to this Regulation or technical measures otherwise fixed in accordance with Union law. Those measures should be designed in particular to address unexpected changes in stock patterns as a result of high or low levels of recruitment of juveniles into a stock, to provide protection for spawning fish or shellfish when stocks are at very low levels or other changes in the conservation status of fish stocks which may threaten the status of a stock. They could include restrictions on the use of towed or static gears or on fishing activities in certain areas or during certain periods.

(38)The power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty should be delegated to the Commission to update the list of fish and shellfish for which directed fishing is prohibited; to update the list of sensitive areas where fishing should be restricted; to adopt technical measures as part of multiannual plans; and to adopt technical measures as part of temporary discard plans. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level. The Commission, when preparing and drawing up delegated acts, should ensure a simultaneous, timely and appropriate transmission of relevant documents to the European Parliament and to the Council.

(39)In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of the provisions of this Regulation in respect of the establishment of the specification of devices to reduce wear and tear, to strengthen or to limit the escape of catches in the forward part of towed gears; to define the specification of the selection devices attached to defined baseline gears; to define the specifications of the pulse trawl; restrictions on construction and the control and monitoring measures to be adopted by the flag Member State; to define rules on: the control and monitoring measures to be adopted by the flag Member State when using static gears in depths between 200-600 metres, to define detailed rules on the control and monitoring measures to be adopted for certain closed or restricted areas; and to define detailed rules on the signal and implementation characteristics of devices used to deter cetaceans from static nets and methods used to minimise bycatches of seabirds and marine reptiles, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council22.

(40)By the end of 2020 and every third year thereafter the Commission should report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation, on the basis of information supplied by Member States and the relevant Advisory Councils and following evaluation by the STECF. This report should assess the extent to which technical measures both regionally and at Union level have contributed to achieving the objectives and in reaching the targets of this Regulation. On the basis of that report, where at regional level there is evidence that the objectives and targets have not been met, Member States within that region should submit a plan setting out the corrective actions to be taken to ensure those objectives and targets can be met. The Commission should also propose to the European Parliament and to the Council any necessary amendments to this Regulation on the basis of that report.

(41)By reason of the number and importance of the amendments to be made, Council Regulations (EC) (EC) 894/9723, 850/9824, (EC) No 2549/200025, (EC) No 254/200226, (EC) No 812/200427 and (EC) No 2187/200528 should be repealed.

(42)Council Regulations (EC) 1967/200629, (EC) No 1098/200730, (EC) 1224/200931 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/201132 and (EU) No 1380/201333 of the European Parliament and of the Council should be amended accordingly.

(43)In order to supplement or amend existing detailed rules transposing recommendations agreed by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of technical measures in Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011. The Commission should also be empowered to adopt delegated acts in respect of the incorporation into Union law of future amendments of those measures adopted by GFCM which form the subject matter of certain expressly defined non-essential elements of this Regulation and which become binding upon the Union in accordance with the terms of the GFCM Agreement. Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 should be amended accordingly. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level.

HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation lays down technical measures concerning:

(a)the taking and landing of fisheries resources; and

(b)the operation of fishing gears and the interaction of fishing activities with marine ecosystems.

Article 2

Scope

1.This Regulation shall apply to activities pursued by Union fishing vessels and nationals of Member States, without prejudice to the primary responsibility of the flag State, in the fishing zones referred to in Article 5 as well as by fishing vessels flying the flag of, and registered in, third countries when fishing in Union waters.

2.Articles 7 and 14 and Part A of Annexes V to X shall also apply to recreational fisheries.

3. Subject to the conditions set out in Articles 29 and 30, the technical measures set out in this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of:

(a)scientific investigations, and

(b)artificial restocking or transplantation of marine species.

Article 3

General and specific objectives

1.As tools to support the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), technical measures shall contribute to the objectives of the CFP set out in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 and in particular in paragraphs 2, 3 and 5(a) and (j) of that Article.

(b)ensure that bycatches of marine species listed under Directives 92/43/EEC and 2009/147/EC and other sensitive species that result from fishing are minimised and where possible eliminated such that they do not represent a threat to the conservation status of these species;

(c)ensure that the environmental impacts of fishing on marine habitats are minimised and where possible eliminated such that they do not represent a threat to the conservation status of those habitats;

(d)contribute to having in place fisheries management measures for the purposes of complying with the obligations under Directives 92/43/EEC, 2009/147/EC, 2008/56/EC and 2000/60/EC.

Article 4

Targets

1.Technical measures shall aim to achieve the following targets:

(a)ensure that catches of marine species below minimum conservation reference sizes do not exceed 5% by volume in accordance with Article 2(2) and Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

(b)ensure that bycatches of marine mammals, marine reptiles, seabirds and other non-commercially exploited species do not exceed levels provided for in Union legislation and international agreements.

(c)ensure that the environmental impacts of fishing activities on seabed habitats do not exceed the levels needed to achieve good environmental status for each habitat type assessed in the framework of Directive 2008/56/EC in each marine region or subregion in relation to both habitat quality and the spatial extent over which the required levels need to be achieved.

2.The extent to which these targets have been achieved shall be reviewed as part of the reporting process set out in Article 34.

Article 5

Definition of fishing zones

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following geographical definitions of fishing zones shall apply:

(e)'Mediterranean Sea' means the maritime waters of the Mediterranean to the East of line 5°36' West;

(f)'Black Sea' means waters in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) geographical sub-area 29 as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1343/201136 (Resolution GFCM/33/2009/2);

(g)'Outermost Regions' means waters around the outermost regions as referred to in the first paragraph of Article 349 of the Treaty divided into three sea basins: West Atlantic, East Atlantic and Indian Ocean;

(h)'NEAFC Regulatory Area’ means the waters of the NEAFC Convention Area which lie beyond the waters under the fisheries jurisdiction of the Contracting Parties' as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council37;

(i)‘GFCM Agreement area’ means the Mediterranean and the Black Sea and connecting waters, as defined in Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council38.

Article 6

Definitions of terms

1.For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions set out in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)'exploitation pattern' means how fishing pressure is distributed across the age profile of a stock;

(2)'selectivity' means a quantitative expression represented as a probability of capture of a certain size of fish in a certain size of mesh (or hook);

(3)'selective fishing' means a fishing method's ability to target and capture fish or shellfish by size and species type during the fishing operation allowing non-target species to be avoided or released unharmed;

(4)'directed fishing' means fishing for a defined species or combination of species where the total catch of that/those species makes up more than 50% of the economic value of the catch;

(6)'sensitive habitat' means a habitat whose conservation status, including its extent and the condition (structure and function) of its biotic and abiotic components, is adversely affected by pressures arising from human activities, including fishing activities. Sensitive habitats, in particular, include habitat types listed in Annex I and habitats of species listed in Annex II of Directive 92/43 EEC, habitats of species listed in Annex I of Directive 2009/147/EC, habitats whose protection is necessary to achieve good environmental status under Directive 2008/56/EC and vulnerable marine ecosystems as defined by Art. 2(b) of Council Regulation 734/200839;

(7)'sensitive species’ means a species whose conservation status, including its habitat, distribution, population size and population condition is adversely affected by pressures arising from human activities, including fishing activities. Sensitive species, in particular, include species listed in Annexes II and IV of Directive 92/43/EEC, species covered by Directive 2009/147/EC and species whose protection is necessary to achieve good environmental status under Directive 2008/56/EC;

(10)'Advisory Councils' means stakeholder groups established under the CFP to promote a balanced representation of all stakeholders and to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the CFP;

(11)'trawl' means fishing gear which is actively towed by one or more fishing vessels and consisting of a net having a cone- or pyramid-shaped body (as trawl body) closed at the back by a codend; 'towed gear' means any trawls, Danish seines and similar gear with a cone- or pyramid shaped body closed at the back by a bag (codend) or comprising two long wings, a body and a bag (codend) and which are actively moved in the water;

(12)'demersal trawl' means a trawl designed and rigged to operate on or near the seabed;

(13)'demersal pair trawl' means a demersal trawl towed by two boats simultaneously, one towing each side of the trawl. The horizontal opening of the trawl is maintained by the distance between the two vessels as they tow the gear;

(14)'pelagic trawl' means a trawl designed and rigged to operate in midwater;

(15)'beam trawl' means gear with a trawl net open horizontally by a steel or wooden tube, the beam, and netting with ground chains, chain mats or tickler chains actively towed on the bottom;

(16)'electric pulse trawl' means a fishing technique which uses an electric field to catch fish. The pulse trawl gear consists of a number of electrodes, attached to the gear in the towing direction, that emit short electric pulses;

(17)'Danish seine' means an encircling and towed gear, operated from a boat by means of two long ropes (seine ropes) designed to herd the fish towards the opening of the seine. The gear made up of net, which is similar to a bottom trawl in design and size, comprises two long wings, a body and a bag (codend);

(18)'purse seine' means encircling gear made up of a net where the bottom is drawn together by means of a purse line at the bottom of the net, which passes through a series of rings along the groundrope, enabling the net to be pursed and closed;

(19)‘dredges’ means gears which are either actively towed by the main boat engine (boat dredge) or hauled by a motorised winch from an anchored vessel (mechanised dredge) to catch bivalves, gastropods or sponges and which consist of a net bag or metal basket mounted on a rigid frame or rod of variable size and shape whose lower part may carry a scraper blade that can be either rounded, sharp or toothed, and may or may not be equipped with skids and diving boards. Some dredges are equipped with hydraulic equipment (hydraulic dredges). Dredges pulled by hand or by manual winches in shallow waters with or without a boat to catch bivalves, gastropods or sponges (hand dredges) shall not be considered towed gears for the purpose of this Regulation;

(20)'static nets' means any type of gillnet, entangling net or trammel net that is either anchored to the seabed (gill nets or set nets) or allowed to drift with the tide (drift nets) for fish to swim into and become entangled or enmeshed in the netting;

(21)'driftnet' means a net made up of one or more walls of netting, hung jointly in parallel on the headline(s), held on the water surface or at a certain distance below it by floating devices and drifting with the current, either independently or with the boat to which it may be attached. It may be equipped with devices aiming to stabilise the net or to limit its drift such as a sea-anchor or an anchor on the bottom attached at one single end of the net;

(22)'bottom-set gillnet' means a net made up of a single piece of net and held vertically in the water by floats and weights. It catches living aquatic resources by enmeshing them and is fixed, or capable of being fixed by any means to the seabed;

(23)'bottom-set entangling net' means a single wall of netting rigged so that the netting is hung onto the ropes to create a greater amount of slack netting than a gillnet. Entangling nets usually have less floatation on the head rope and do not stand as high when fishing, as the average bottom set gill net and are fixed, or capable of being fixed by any means to the seabed;

(24)'bottom set trammel net' means a net made up of two or more layers of netting with two outer layers of a large mesh size with a sheet of fine small mesh sandwiched between them and is fixed, or capable of being fixed by any means to the seabed;

(25)'combined gillnet and trammel net' means any bottom-set gillnet combined with a trammel net which constitutes the lower part;

(26)'longline' means a fishing gear consisting of a main line, sometimes of considerable length, to which snoods with baited or unbaited hooks are fixed at regular intervals. The main line is anchored either horizontally on or near the bottom, vertically or can be allowed to drift on the surface;

(27)'pots and creels' means traps in the form of cages or baskets made with various materials designed to catch crustaceans or fish that are set on the seabed either singly or in rows connected by ropes (buoy-lines) to buoys on the surface showing their position and having one or more openings or entrances;

(28)'handline' means a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands. One or more lures or baited hooks are attached to the line;

(29)'St Andrews cross' means a grab which employs a scissor-like action to harvest for example bivalve molluscs or red coral from the seabed;

(30)'codend' means the rearmost part of the trawl, having either a cylindrical shape, i.e. the same circumference throughout, or a tapering shape. Made up of one or more panels (pieces of netting) of the same mesh size attached to one another along their sides in the axis of the trawl by a seam where a side rope may be attached. For regulatory purposes this shall be taken as the last 50 meshes of the net;

(31)'mesh size' means the mesh size of any codend of a towed gear as measured in accordance with the procedure set out in Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/200840;

(32)'square mesh' means the mesh shape originating from mounting netting with 45° deviation from the N-direction such that the bars run parallel and at 90° to the trawl axis;

(34)'T90' means trawls, Danish seines or similar towed gears having a codend and extension piece produced from knotted diamond mesh netting turned 90° so that the main direction of run of the netting is parallel to the towing direction;

(35)'Bacoma exit window' means an escape panel constructed in knotless square mesh netting fitted into the top panel of a codend with its lower edge no more than four meshes from the codline;

(36)'sieve net' means a device attached to the full circumference of the shrimp trawl near the beam, and tapering to an apex where it is attached to the bottom sheet of the shrimp trawl. An exit hole is cut where the sieve net and codend join, allowing species or individuals too large to pass through the sieve to escape, whereas the shrimp can pass through the sieve and into the codend;

(37)'the drop' of a purse seine means the sum of the height of the meshes (including knots) when wet and stretched perpendicular to the float line;

(38)'immersion time' means the period from the point of time when the nets are first put in the water until the point of time when the nets are fully recovered on board the fishing vessel;

(39)'gear monitoring sensors' means remote electronic sensors that can be placed on trawls or purse seine to monitor key performance parameters such as the distance between trawl doors or size of the catch;

(40)'acoustic deterrent device' means remote devices used to make species such as marine mammals aware and warn them of the presence of fishing gears by emitting acoustic signals;

(41)'bird scaring lines' (also called a tori line) means lines (with streamers that are towed from a high point near the stern of fishing vessels as baited hooks are deployed with the aim of scaring seabirds away from the hooks;

(42)'high grading' means the practice of discarding low priced fish that are subject to catch limits, even though they could have been legally landed, so as to maximise the total economic or monetary value of the fish brought back to harbour.

(43)'slipping' means the practice of intentionally releasing fish from fishing gear before that gear is fully brought on board a fishing vessel resulting in the loss of dead or dying fish;

(44)'direct restocking' means the activity of releasing live wild animals of selected species into waters where they occur naturally, in order to use the natural production of the aquatic environment to increase the number of individuals available for fisheries and/or to increase natural recruitment;

(45)'transplantation' means the process by which a species is intentionally transported and released by humans within areas of established populations.

CHAPTER II

COMMON TECHNICAL MEASURES

SECTION 1

Prohibited Fishing Gears And uses

Article 7

Prohibited fishing gears and methods

It shall be prohibited to catch or harvest marine species using the following methods:

(a)toxic, stupefying or corrosive substances;

(b)electric current except for the use of the electric pulse trawl as set out in Article 24 and Part E of Annex V;

(c)explosives;

(d)pneumatic hammers or other percussive instruments;

(e)towed devices for harvesting red coral or other type of corals or coral-like organisms;

(f)St Andrew's cross and similar grabs for harvesting, in particular, red coral or other type of corals and coral-like species;

(g)any type of projectile;

(h)spear-guns if used in conjunction with underwater breathing apparatus (aqualung) or at night from sunset to dawn.

Article 8

Prohibited uses

It shall be prohibited to sell, display or offer for sale any marine species caught using any of the methods listed in Article 7.

SECTION 2

General Restrictions On Gears And Conditions For Their Use

Article 9

General restrictions on the use of towed gears

1.No part of any towed gear shall be constructed of a mesh size smaller than the codend mesh size. This provision shall not apply to netting devices used for the attachment of gear monitoring sensors.

2.Whenever more than one net is towed simultaneously by a fishing vessel or by more than one fishing vessel, each net shall have the same mesh size.

3.It shall be prohibited to construct any codend or attach any device that obstructs or otherwise effectively diminishes the mesh size of the codend or any part of a towed gear. This provision shall not exclude the use of specified devices used to reduce wear and tear, to strengthen or to limit the escape of catches in the forward part of towed gears.

4.The Commission may adopt implementing acts establishing detailed rules for the specification of codends and the devices referred to in paragraph 3. Those implementing acts shall be based on the best available scientific and technical advice and may define:

–restrictions on twine thickness;

–restrictions on the circumference of codends;

–restrictions on the use of netting materials;

–structure and attachment of codends;

–permitted devices to reduce wear and tear; and

–permitted devices to limit the escape of catches.

5.The implementing acts referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

Article 10

General restrictions on the use of static nets

1.It shall be prohibited to have on board or deploy one or more driftnets whose individual or total length is more than 2.5 kilometres.

2.It shall be prohibited to use driftnets to fish for the species listed in Annex III.

3.Notwithstanding paragraph 1 it shall be prohibited to have on board or deploy any driftnet in the Baltic Sea.

4.It shall be prohibited to use bottom-set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets to catch the following species:

–Albacore (Thunnus alalunga),

–Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus),

–Rays breams (Brama brama),

–Swordfish (Xiphias gladius),

–Sharks belonging to the following species or families Hexanchus griseus; Cetorhinus maximus; all species of Alopiidae; Carcharhinidae; Sphymidae; Isuridae; Lamnidae.

5.It shall be prohibited to deploy any bottom set gillnet, entangling net and trammel nets at any position where the charted depth is greater than 600 metres.

SECTION 3

Protection Of Sensitive Species And Habitats

Article 11

Prohibited fish and shellfish species

1.The deliberate catching, retention on board, transhipment or landing of fish or shellfish species referred to in Annex IV to Directive 92/43/EEC shall be prohibited except when a derogation has been granted according to Article 16 of that Directive.

2.In addition to the species referred to in paragraph 1, it shall be prohibited for Union vessels to fish for, retain on board, tranship, land, store, sell, display or offer for sale the species listed in Annex I.

3. When caught as bycatches, species referred to in paragraph 1 and 2 shall not be harmed and specimens shall be promptly released back into the sea.

4.Where the best available scientific advice indicates that an amendment of the list in Annex I is necessary through the addition of new species which require protection, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt such amendments by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 32.

5.Measures adopted pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Article shall aim at achieving the target set out in Article 4(1)(b).

Article 12

Bycatches of marine mammals, seabirds and marine reptiles

1.The deliberate catching, retention on board, transhipment or landing of marine mammals or marine reptiles referred to in Annexes II and IV to Directive 92/43/EEC and of species of seabirds covered by Directive 2009/147/ECshall be prohibited.

2.When caught as bycatch, species referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be harmed and specimens shall be promptly released.

3.Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, the retention on board, transhipment or landing of specimens of marine species referred to in paragraph 1 which have been caught as bycatch, shall be authorised as far as this activity is necessary to secure assistance for the recovery of the individual animals and provided that the competent national authorities concerned have been fully informed in advance.

4.On the basis of the best available scientific advice a Member State may put in place for vessels flying its flag, mitigation measures or restrictions on the use of certain gears pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Such measures shall minimise and where possible eliminate the catches of the species referred to in paragraph 1 and shall be compatible with the objectives set out in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 and be at least as stringent as technical measures applicable under Union law.

5.Measures adopted pursuant to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall aim at achieving the target set out in Article 4(1)(b).

1.It shall be prohibited to deploy the fishing gears specified in Annex II within the relevant areas set out in that Annex.

2.Where the best available scientific advice recommends an amendment of the list of areas in Annex II, including the addition of new areas, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt such amendments by means of delegated acts, pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 11(2) and 11(3) of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013. When adopting such amendments, the Commission shall give particular attention to the mitigation of negative effects of the displacement of fishing activity to other sensitive areas.

3.Where such habitats occur in waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of a Member State, that Member State is empowered to establish closed areas or other conservation measures to protect such habitats, pursuant to the procedure laid down in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Such measures shall be compatible with the objectives of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 and be at least as stringent as measures under Union law.

4. Measures adopted pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall aim at achieving the target set out in Article 4(1)(c).

SECTION 4

Minimum Conservation Reference Sizes

Article 14

Minimum conservation reference sizes

1.The minimum conservation reference sizes of marine species specified in Part A of Annexes V to X of this Regulation shall apply for the purpose of:

(a)ensuring the protection of juveniles of marine species pursuant to Article 15(11) and 15(12) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013;

2.The measurement of the size of a marine species shall be made in accordance with the provisions set out in Annex IV.

3.Where more than one method of measuring the size of a marine species is provided for, the specimen shall not be considered below the minimum conservation reference size if the size measured by any one of those methods is equal to, or greater than, the minimum conservation reference size.

Member States shall have in place measures to facilitate the storage of or find outlets for catches below minimum conservation reference sizes landed in accordance with Article 15(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Those measures may include support for investment in the construction and adaptation of landing sites and shelters, or support for investments to add value to fishery products.

SECTION 5

Measures To Reduce Discarding

Article 16

Prohibition of high grading and slipping

1.The practices of high grading and slipping shall be prohibited.

2.Paragraph 1 shall not apply to catches of species which are exempted from the application of the landing obligation in accordance with Article 15(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

Article 17

Species not subject to catch limits

1.Member States may conduct pilot projects with the aim of exploring methods for the avoidance, minimisation and elimination of unwanted catches of the species not subject to catch limits. Those pilot projects shall take account of the opinions of the relevant Advisory Councils and be based on best available scientific advice.

2.Where the results of those pilot studies or other scientific advice indicate that unwanted catches of species which are not subject to catch limits are significant, Member States may establish technical measures to reduce those unwanted catches in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013. Those technical measures shall apply solely to fishing vessels flying the flag of that Member State.

CHAPTER III

REGIONALISATION

Article 18

Guiding principles

1.Technical measures established at the regional level are set out in the following Annexes:

(a)in Annex V for the North Sea;

(b)in Annex VI for North Western Waters;

(c)in Annex VII for South Western Waters;

(d)in Annex VIII for the Baltic Sea;

(e)in Annex IX for the Mediterranean;

(f)in Annex X for the Black Sea;

(g)in Annex XI for the Outermost Regions.

2.In accordance with the procedure set out in Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 Member States may submit joint recommendations defining appropriate technical measures at the regional level that deviate from the measures set out in paragraph 1.

3.Technical measures recommended in accordance with paragraph 2 shall as a minimum be equivalent in terms of exploitation patterns and level of protection provided for sensitive species and habitats as those measures referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 19

Regional measures under multiannual plans

1.The Commission shall be empowered to establish technical measures at regional level with the aim of achieving objectives of multiannual plans referred to in Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Such measures shall be established by means of delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 32 of this Regulation and Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013.

2. Measures established in accordance with paragraph 1 may:

(a)amend or supplement the measures set out in Annexes V to XI;

(b)derogate from the measures set out in Annexes V to XI for a specific area or time period, provided it can be demonstrated that those measures have no conservation benefit in that area or period or that the alternative measures achieve the same objectives.

3.A multiannual plan may define the kind of technical measures that may be adopted pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 for the relevant region.

4.The measures adopted pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 shall

(a) aim at achieving the objectives and targets set out in Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation;

(b) be guided by the principles of good governance set out in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013; and

5.Where Member States submit joint recommendations for the establishment of technical measures as referred to in paragraph 1, they shall provide scientific evidence to support the adoption of those measures.

6.The Commission may require the STECF to assess the joint recommendations referred to in paragraph 5.

Article 20

Species and size selectivity of fishing gears

1.When Member States submit joint recommendations in accordance with Article 19 to define size selective and species selective gears, they shall provide evidence demonstrating that those gears meet at least one of the following criteria:

(a)result in at least equivalent selectivity characteristics for specific species or combination of species as the gears set out in Part B of Annexes V to X and in Part A of Annex XI; or

(b)result in unwanted catches of a defined species or combination of species below a threshold level.

2.The selectivity characteristics referred to in paragraph 1(a) and the threshold level and species referred to in paragraph 1(b) shall be defined in the relevant multiannual plan.

Article 21

Closed or restricted areas to protect juveniles and spawning aggregations

When Member States submit joint recommendations in accordance with Article 19 to amend the closed or restricted areas listed in Part C of Annexes V to VIII and X and Part B of Annex XI or establish new closed or restricted areas they shall include the following elements in respect of such closed or restricted areas in those joint recommendations:

–the objective of the closure;

–the extent and duration of the closure;

–restrictions on specific gears; and

–control and monitoring arrangements.

Article 22

Minimum conservation reference sizes

When Member States submit joint recommendations in accordance with Article 19 to amend or establish minimum conservation reference sizes listed in Part A of Annexes V to X they shall respect the objective of ensuring the protection of juveniles of marine species.

Article 23

Real-time closures and moving-on provisions

When Member States submit joint recommendations in accordance with Article 19 to allow for the creation of real-time closures and moving on provisions with the aim of ensuring the protection of aggregations of juveniles or spawning fish or shellfish species, they shall include the following elements:

–the extent and duration of the closures;

–the species and threshold levels that trigger the closure;

–the distance a vessel should move away from the closed area once established;

–the use of highly selective gears to allow access to otherwise closed areas; and

–control and monitoring arrangements.

Article 24

Innovative fishing gears

1.When Member States submit joint recommendations in accordance with Article 19 to allow for the use or extend the use of innovative fishing gears including the pulse trawl as described in Part E of Annex V within a specific sea basin, they shall provide an assessment of the likely impacts of using such gears on the targeted species and on sensitive species and habitats.

2.Those assessments shall be evaluated by the STECF.

3.The use of innovative fishing gears shall not be permitted where those assessments indicate that their use will lead to negative impacts on sensitive habitats and non-target species.

Article 25

Nature conservation measures

Joint recommendations submitted by Member States in accordance with Article 19 to allow for the use of nature conservation measures to protect sensitive species and habitats may in particular:

–develop lists of sensitive species and habitats most at risk from fishing activities within the relevant region based on best available scientific advice;

–specify the use of additional mitigation measures to those referred to in Part D of Annexes V to X to minimise the bycatches of the species referred to in Article 12;

–specify measures to minimise the impacts of fishing gears on the habitats referred to in Article 13 or other sensitive habitats outside NATURA 2000 sites;

–specify restrictions on the construction and operation of specified gears or introduce a total prohibition on the use of certain fishing gears within a region where such gears represent a threat to the conservation status of species referred to in Articles 11 and 12 or to the habitats referred to in Article 13 or other sensitive habitats outside NATURA 2000 sites.

Article 26

Regional measures under temporary discard plans

1.When Member States submit joint recommendations for the establishment of technical measures in temporary discard plans referred to in Article 15(6) of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, they may contain the following elements:

(a)specifications of fishing gears and the rules governing their use;

(b)specifications of modifications to fishing gears or use of selectivity devices to improve size or species selectivity;

(c)restrictions or prohibitions on the use of certain fishing gears and on fishing activities in certain areas or periods;

(d)minimum conservation reference sizes.

2.The measures referred to in paragraph 1 shall aim at achieving the objectives set out in Article 3 and in particular for the protection of aggregations of juveniles or spawning fish or shellfish species.

–the specifications of the selection devices attached to the gears set out in Part B of Annexes V to VIII;

–detailed rules on the specifications of the fishing gear described in Part E of Annex V relating to restrictions on gear construction and the control and monitoring measures to be adopted by the flag Member State;

–detailed rules on the control and monitoring measures to be adopted by the flag Member State when using the gears referred to in Annex V Part C point 6, Annex VI Part C point 9, and Annex VII part C point 4;

–detailed rules on the control and monitoring measures to be adopted for the closed or restricted areas described in Annex V Part C point 2, Annex VI Part C points 6 and 7;

–detailed rules on the signal and implementation characteristics of acoustic deterrent devices as referred to in Part D of Annexes V to X;

–detailed rules of the design and deployment of bird scaring lines and weighted lines as referred to in Part D of Annexes VI, VII and IX.

2.Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 33(2).

CHAPTER IV

REGIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONS

Article 28

North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 in order to

(a) transpose into Union law certain technical measures agreed by the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), including lists of vulnerable marine ecosystems and specific technical measures related to fisheries for blue ling and redfish defined in NEAFC Recommendations 05:2013, 19:2014, 01:2015, 02:2015; and

1.The technical measures provided for in this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigations subject to the following conditions:

(a)the fishing operations shall be carried out with the permission and under the authority of the flag Member State;

(b)the Commission and the Member State in the waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of which the fishing operations take place ('the coastal Member State'), shall be informed at least one month in advance of the intention to conduct such fishing operations detailing the vessels involved and the scientific investigations to be undertaken;

(c)the vessel or vessels conducting the fishing operations shall have a valid fishing authorisation in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) 1224/2009;

(d)if requested by the coastal Member State to the flag Member State, the master of the vessel shall take on board an observer from the coastal Member State during the fishing operations.

2.Marine species caught for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 may be sold, stored, displayed or offered for sale, provided that they are counted against quotas in accordance with 33(6) of Regulation (EC) 1224/2009 and:

(a)they meet the standards set out in Annexes IV to VII of this Regulation; or

(b)they are sold for purposes other than direct human consumption.

Article 30

Artificial restocking and transplantation

1.The technical measures provided for in this Regulation shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of artificial restocking or transplantation of marine species, provided that those operations are carried out with the permission and under the authority of the Member State or Member States having a direct management interest.

2.Where the artificial restocking or transplantation is carried out in the waters of another Member State or Member States, the Commission and all those Member States shall be informed at least one month in advance of the intention to conduct such fishing operations.

CHAPTER VISAFEGUARD MEASURES

Article 31Safeguard Measures

1.Where available scientific advice indicates that immediate action is required to protect marine species, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to alleviate such threats. Those acts may concern, in particular, restrictions on the use of fishing gears or on fishing activities in certain areas or during certain periods.

2.Delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be designed in particular to:

(a)address unexpected changes in stock patterns as a result of high or low levels of recruitment of juveniles into a stock;

(b) provide protection for spawning fish or shellfish when stocks are at very low levels or where other environmental factors threaten the status of a stock.

3. Delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall apply for a period of no more than three years without prejudice to paragraph 6 of Article 32.

CHAPTER VII

PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS

Article 32

Exercise of delegation

1.The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2.The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 11, 13, 19 28 and 31 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from [----]. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the 5-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

3.The delegation of power referred to in Articles 11, 13, 19, 28 and 31 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4.As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

5.A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 11, 13, 19 and 28 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

6. Delegated acts adopted under Article 31 shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 7. The notification of such delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure.

7.Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act adopted under Article 31 in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 5. In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act without delay following the notification of the decision to object by the European Parliament or by the Council.

Article 33

Committee Procedure

1.The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee for fisheries and aquaculture established by Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2.Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Council Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 8 of Council Regulation (EU) No 182/2011, in conjunction with Article 5 thereof, shall apply.

CHAPTER VIII

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 34

Review and reporting

1.By the end of 2020 and every third year thereafter, and on the basis of information supplied by Member States and the relevant Advisory Councils and following evaluation by the STECF, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Regulation. This report shall assess the extent to which technical measures both regionally and at Union level have contributed to achieving the objectives set out in Article 3 and in reaching the targets set out in Article 4.

2.On the basis of that report, where at regional level there is evidence that the objectives and targets have not been met, within six months after the submission of the report as referred to in paragraph 1 Member States within that region shall submit a plan setting out the corrective actions to be taken to ensure those objectives and targets can be met.

3. The Commission may also propose to the European Parliament and to the Council any necessary amendments to this Regulation on the basis of that report.

Article 35

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006

Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 is amended as follows:

(a)Articles 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 25 are deleted;

(b)Annexes I, II, III and IV are deleted.

Article 36

Amendments to Regulation (EC) 1098/2007

In Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007, Articles 8 and 9 are deleted.

Article 37

Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009

In Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009, Chapter IV of Title IV is amended as follows:

(a)Section 3 deleted;

(b)the following Section 4 is added:

'Section 4

'On Board Processing And Pelagic Fisheries'

Article 54a

On board processing

1.The carrying out on board a fishing vessel of any physical or chemical process of fish to produce fish-meal, fish-oil, or similar products or to tranship catches of fish for such purposes shall be prohibited.

2.Paragraph 1 shall not apply to:

(a)the processing or transhipment of offal; or

(b)the production on board a fishing vessel of surimi.

Article 54b

Catch handling and discharge restrictions on pelagic vessels

1. The maximum space between bars in the water separator on board pelagic fishing vessels targeting mackerel, herring and horse mackerel operating in the NEAFC Convention Area as defined in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 shall be 10 millimetres.

The bars shall be welded in place. If holes are used in the water separator instead of bars, the maximum diameter of the holes shall not exceed 10 millimetres. Holes in the chutes before the water separator shall not exceed 15 millimetres in diameter.

2. Pelagic vessels operating in the NEAFC Convention Area shall be prohibited from discharging fish under their water line from buffer tanks or Refrigerated seawater (RSW) tanks.

3. Drawings related to the catch handling and discharge capabilities of pelagic vessels targeting mackerel, herring and horse mackerel in the NEAFC Convention Area which are certified by the competent authorities of the flag Member States, as well as any modifications thereto, shall be sent by the master of the vessel to the competent fisheries authorities of the flag Member State. The competent authorities of the flag Member State of the vessels shall carry out periodic verifications of the accuracy of the drawings submitted. Copies shall be carried on board the vessel at all times.

Article 54c

Restrictions on the use of automatic grading equipment

1.The carrying or use on board a fishing vessel of equipment which is capable of automatically grading by size or by sex herring or mackerel or horse mackerel shall be prohibited.

2. However, the carrying and use of such equipment shall be permitted provided that:

(a)the vessel does not simultaneously carry or use on board either towed gear of mesh size less than 80 mm or one or more purse seines or similar fishing gears; or

(b)the whole of the catch which may be lawfully retained on board:

is stored in a frozen state;

the graded fish are frozen immediately after grading and no graded fish are returned to the sea; and

(the equipment is installed and located on the vessel in such a way as to ensure immediate freezing and not to allow the return of marine species to the sea.

3.By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, any vessel authorised to fish in the Baltic, Belts or Sound may carry automatic grading equipment in the Kattegat provided that a fishing authorisation has been issued in accordance with Article 7. The fishing authorisation shall define the species, areas, time periods and any other required conditions applicable to the use and carriage on board of the grading equipment.'

`The Commission shall also be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 27, in order to transpose into Union law other technical measures established by the GFCM that become obligatory for the Union and to supplement or amend certain non-essential elements of legislative acts which transpose GFCM recommendations on technical measures.'

Article 39

Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013

In Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013, Article 15(12) is replaced by the following:

'For the species that are not subject to the landing obligation as specified in paragraph 1, the catches of species below the minimum conservation reference size shall not be retained on board, but shall be returned immediately to the sea, except when they are used as live bait.'

Article 40

Repeals

Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, ((EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005 are repealed.

References to the repealed Regulations shall be construed as references to this Regulation.

Article 41

Entry into Force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European ParliamentFor the Council

The PresidentThe President

(1)MRAG et al. (2014).A study in support of the development of a new Technical conservation measures framework within a reformed CFP. Lot 2: retrospective and prospective evaluation on the Common fisheries policy, excluding its international Dimension. Brussels. 265pp

(2)Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Councilof 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC OJ L354, 28.12.2013, p. 22.

(3)COM(2002)672 final Proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms.

(4)COM(2008)324 final Proposal for a Council Regulation concerning the conservation of fisheries resources through technical measures.

(5)COM(2013) 685 final Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Social and Economic Committee and the Committee of the Regions Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT): Results and Next Steps.

COM(2011) 244 final Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020

COM(2014) 130 final/2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Taking stock of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 199/2008 of 25 February 2008 concerning the establishment of a Community framework for the collection, management and use of data in the fisheries sector and support for scientific advice regarding the Common Fisheries Policy OJ L 60, 5.3.2008, p.1.

(14)Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources in the Mediterranean Sea, OJ L 347 30.12.2001, p. 44

(18)Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (OJ L 164, 25.6.2008, p.19).

(19)Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p.7.

(20)Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p..

(21)Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p.1.

(22)Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p.13).

(24)Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms (OJ L125, 27.4.1998, p.1).

(25)Council Regulation (EC) No 2549/2000 of 17 November 2000 establishing additional technical measures for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa OJ L 292, 21.11.2000, p.5

(26)Council Regulation (EC) No 254/2002 of 12 February 2002 establishing measures to be applicable in 2002 for the recovery of the stock of cod in the Irish Sea (ICES division VIIa) (OJ L41, 13.2.2002, p.1).

(28)Council Regulation (EC) No 2187/2005 of 21 December 2005 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures in the Baltic Sea, the Belts and the Sound, amending Regulation (EC) No 1434/98 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 88/98 (OJ L 349, 31.12.2005, p.1).

(30)Council Regulation (EC) No 1098/2007 of 18 September 2007 establishing a multiannual plan for the cod stocks in the Baltic Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 779/97 (OJ L 248, 22.9.2007, p.1).

(31)Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy, amending Regulations (EC) No 847/96, (EC) No 2371/2002, (EC) No 811/2004, (EC) No 768/2005, (EC) No 2115/2005, (EC) No 2166/2005, (EC) No 388/2006, (EC) No 509/2007, (EC) No 676/2007, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1300/2008, (EC) No 1342/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2847/93, (EC) No 1627/94 and (EC) No 1966/2006 OJ L 343, 22.12.2009, p.1.

(32)Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Councl of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, OJ L 347, 30.12.2001, p.44.

(33)Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on the Common Fisheries Policy, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1954/2003 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 and (EC) No 639/2004 and Council Decision 2004/585/EC, OJ L 354, 28.12.2013, p.22.

(34)ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) divisions are as defined in Regulation (EC) No 218/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in the north-east Atlantic OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 70.

(35)CECAF (Eastern Central Atlantic or FAO major fishing zone 34) zones are as defined in Regulation (EC) No 216/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on the submission of nominal catch statistics by Member States fishing in certain areas other than those of the North Atlantic OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 1.

(36)Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea OJ L 347, 30.12.2011, p.44.

(37)Regulation (EU) No 1236/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2010 laying down a scheme of control and enforcement applicable in the area covered by the Convention on future multilateral cooperation in the North-East Atlantic fisheries and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 2791/1999 (OJ L 348, 31.12.2010, p. 17).

(38)Regulation (EU) No 1343/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011on certain provisions for fishing in the GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean) Agreement area and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (OJ L 347, 30.12.2011, p. 44).

(39)Council Regulation (EC) 734/2008 of 15 July 2008 on the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the high seas from the adverse impacts of bottom fishing gears. OJ L 201, 15.7.2008, p.8.

(40)Commission Regulation (EC) No 517/2008 of 10 June 2008 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 850/98 as regards the determination of the mesh size and assessing the thickness of twine of fishing nets (OJ L 151, 11.6.2008, p.5).

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council

on the conservation of fishery resources and the protection of marine ecosystems through technical measures, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1967/2006, (EC) No 1098/2007, (EC) No 1224/2009 and Regulations (EU) No 1343/2011 and (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Regulations (EC) No 894/97, (EC) No 850/98, (EC) No 2549/2000, (EC) No 254/2002, (EC) No 812/2004 and (EC) No 2187/2005

(p)date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga) and common piddock (Pholas dactylus) in Union waters in the Mediterranean.

ANNEX II

Closed areas for the protection of sensitive habitats

For the purposes of Article 13, the following restrictions on fishing activity are applicable in the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

Part A

North Western Waters

1.It shall be prohibited to deploy bottom trawls or similar towed nets, bottom set gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets and bottom set longlines within the following areas:

Belgica Mound Province:

–51°29.4' N, 11°51.6' W

–51°32.4' N, 11°41.4' W

–51°15.6' N, 11°33.0' W

–51°13.8' N, 11°44.4' W

–51°29.4' N, 11°51.6' W

Hovland Mound Province:

–52°16.2' N, 13°12.6' W

–52°24.0' N, 12°58.2' W

–52°16.8' N, 12°54.0' W

–52°16.8' N, 12°29.4' W

–52°04.2' N, 12°29.4' W

–52°04.2' N, 12°52.8' W

–52°09.0' N, 12°56.4' W

–52°09.0' N, 13°10.8' W

–52°16.2' N, 13°12.6' W

North-West Porcupine Bank Area I:

–53°30.6' N, 14°32.4' W

–53°35.4' N, 14°27.6' W

–53°40.8' N, 14°15.6' W

–53°34.2' N, 14°11.4' W

–53°31.8' N, 14°14.4' W

–53°24.0' N, 14°28.8' W

–53°30.6' N, 14°32.4' W

North-West Porcupine Bank Area II:

–53°43.2' N, 14°10.8' W

–53°51.6' N, 13°53.4' W

–53°45.6' N, 13°49.8' W

–53°36.6' N, 14°07.2' W

–53°43.2' N, 14°10.8' W

South-West Porcupine Bank:

–51°54.6' N, 15°07.2' W

–51°54.6' N, 14°55.2' W

–51°42.0' N, 14°55.2' W

–51°42.0' N, 15°10.2' W

–51°49.2' N, 15°06.0' W

–51°54.6' N, 15°07.2' W

2.All pelagic vessels fishing in the areas as described in point 1 shall:

–be on a list of authorised vessels and be issued with a fishing authorisation in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009;

–carry on board exclusively pelagic gear;

–give four hours advance notification of their intention to enter an area for the protection of vulnerable deep-sea habitats to the Irish Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) as defined in Article 4(15) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 and at the same time notify quantities of fish retained on board;

–have an operational, fully functioning secure Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) which complies fully with the respective rules when present in any of the areas described in point 1;

–make VMS reports every hour;

–inform the Irish FMC on departure from the area and at the same time notify quantities of fish retained on board; and

–have on board trawls with a codend mesh size range from 16-79mm.

Darwin Mounds

It shall be prohibited to deploy any bottom trawl or similar towed nets within the following area:

–59°54' N, 6°55' W

–59°47' N, 6°47' W

–59°37' N, 7°39' W

–59°45' N, 7°39' W

–59°54' N, 7°25' W

Part B

South Western Waters

1.El Cachucho

1.1It shall be prohibited to deploy bottom trawls, bottom set gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets and bottom set longlines within the following areas:

–44°12' N, 5°16' W

–44°12' N, 4°26' W

–43°53' N, 4°26' W

–43°53' N, 5°16' W

–44°12' N, 5°16' W

1.2.Vessels that conducted directed fisheries with bottom set longlines in 2006, 2007 and 2008 for greater forkbeard (Phycis blennoides) may continue to fish in the area south of 44°00.00′ N provided they have a fishing authorisation issued in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

1.3.All vessels having obtained this fishing authorisation shall, regardless of their overall length, have in use an operational, fully functioning secure VMS which complies with the respective rules, when conducting fisheries in the area described in point 1.1.

2.Madeira and Canaries

It shall be prohibited to deploy bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets at depths greater than 200m or bottom trawls or similar towed gears within the following areas:

–27°00' N, 19°00' W

–26°00' N, 15°00' W

–29°00' N, 13°00' W

–36°00' N, 13°00' W

–36°00' N, 19°00' W

3. Azores

It shall be prohibited to deploy bottom set gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets at depths greater than 200m or bottom trawls or similar towed gears within the following areas:

1.The size of any fish shall be measured, as shown in Figure 1, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail fin.

2. The size of a Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) shall be measured as shown in Figure 2:

–either as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the back of either eye socket to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace, or,

–as the total length, from the tip of the rostrum to the rear end of the telson, not including the setae.

3. The size of a lobster (Homarus gammarus) shall be measured as shown in Figure 3:

–either as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the back of either eye socket to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace, or,

–as the total length, from the tip of the rostrum to the rear end of the telson, not including the setae.

4. The size of a crawfish (Palinuridae) shall be measured as shown in Figure 4 as the length of the carapace, parallel to the midline, from the tip of the rostrum to the midpoint of the distal dorsal edge of the carapace.

5. The size of any bivalve mollusc shall be measured as shown in Figure 5, across the longest part of the shell.

Figure 1 Fish species

Figure 2 Norway Lobster

Figure 3 Lobster

Figure 4 Crawfish

Figure 5 Bivalve molluscs

ANNEX V

North Sea

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

North Sea

Cod (Gadus morhua)

35 cm

Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

30 cm

Saithe (Pollachius virens)

35 cm

Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)

30 cm

Hake (Merluccius merluccius)

27 cm

Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.)

20 cm

Sole (Solea spp.)

24 cm

Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

27 cm

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

27 cm

Ling (Molva molva)

63 cm

Blue ling (Molva dipterygia)

70 cm

Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Total length 85 mm,

Carapace length 25 mm

Norway lobster tails 46 mm

Mackerel (Scomber spp.)

20 cm

Herring (Clupea harengus)

20 cm

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)

15 cm

Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

12 cm or 90 individuals per kilo

Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

42 cm

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

11 cm

Lobster (Homarus gammarus)

87 mm

Spinous spider crab (Maia squinada)

120 mm

Queen scallop (Chalamys spp.)

40 mm

Grooved carpetshell (Ruditapes decussatus)

40 mm

Carpetshell (Venerupis pullastra)

38 mm

Short-necked clam (Venerupis philippinarum)

35 mm

Clam (Venus verrucosa)

40 mm

Hard clam (Callista chione)

6 cm

Razor clam (Ensis spp.)

10 cm

Surf clams (Spisula solida)

25 mm

Donax clams (Donax spp.)

25 mm

Bean solen (Pharus legumen)

65 mm

Whelk (Buccinum undatum.)

45 mm

Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

750 grammes

Crawfish (Palinurus spp.)

95 mm

Deepwater rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostirs)

22mm (carapace length)

Edible crab (Cancer pagurus)

140 mm 1,2,3

Scallop (Pecten maximus)

100 mm

Species

Skagerrak/Kattegat

Cod (Gadus morhua)

30 cm

Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

27 cm

Saithe (Pollachius virens)

30 cm

Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)

-

Hake (Merluccius merluccius)

30 cm

Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.)

25 cm

Sole (Solea spp.)

24 cm

Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

27 cm

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

23 cm

Ling (Molva molva)

-

Blue ling (Molva dipterygia)

-

Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Total length 105mm

Carapace length 32mm

Mackerel (Scomber spp.)

20 cm

Herring (Clupea harengus)

18 cm

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)

15 cm

Lobster (Homarus gammarus)

Total length 220mm

Carapace length 78mm

1 In Union waters in ICES division IVa

2 In an area in ICES divisions IVb, c limited by a point at 53°28'22"N, 0°09'24"E, on the coast of England, a straight line joining this point with 53°28'22"N, 0°22'24"E, the 6 mile boundary of the United Kingdom, and a straight line connecting a point at 51°54'06"N, 1°30'30"E, with a point on the coast of England at 51°55'48"N, 1°17'00"E, a minimum conservation reference size of 115 mm shall apply.

3 For edible crabs caught in pots or creels, a maximum of 1% by weight of the total catch of edible crab may consist of detached claws. For edible crabs caught with any other fishing gear, a maximum of 75kg of detached crab claws may be landed.

Part B

Mesh sizes

1.Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the North Sea and Skagerrak/Kattegat.

Codend Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 120mm

Whole area

None

At least 80mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for Nephrops norvegicus or species not covered by catch limits. A square mesh panel of at least 120mm or sorting grid with a maximum bar spacing of 35mm or equivalent selectivity device shall be fitted.

At least 80mm

ICES Division IVb south of 54° 30'N and ICES Division IVc

Directed fishing for sole with beam trawls or [Pulse trawls]. A panel with a mesh size of at least 180mm fitted in the upper half of the anterior part of the net.

At least 32mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for Pandalus borealis. A sorting grid with a minimum bar spacing of 19mm or equivalent selectivity device shall be fitted.

At least 16mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

Directed fishing for Norway pout. A sorting grid with a bar spacing of 22mm in the Norway Pout fishery shall be fitted.

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in the North Sea and Skagerrak/Kattegat.

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 120mm

Whole area

None

At least 100mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for sole or species not subject to catch limits

At least 50mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

Part C

Closed or restricted areas

1.Closure of an area to protect sandeel in ICES divisions IVa and IVb

1.1Fishing for sandeels with any towed gear with a codend mesh size less than 80mm or any static net with a mesh size of less than 100mm shall be prohibited within the geographical area bounded by the east coast of England and Scotland, and enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system:

–the east coast of England at latitude 55o30' N

–55o 30' N, 01o 00' W

–58o 00' N, 01o 00' W

–58o 00' N, 02o 00' W

–the east coast of Scotland at longitude 02o00' W.

1.2Fisheries for scientific investigation shall be allowed in order to monitor the sandeel stock in the area and the effects of the closure.

2.Closure of an area to protect juvenile plaice in ICES subarea IV

2.1 Vessels exceeding 8 metres length overall shall be prohibited from using any demersal trawl, Danish seine or similar towed gear within the geographical areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84:

(a)the area within 12 nautical miles of the coasts of France, north of latitude 51°00' N, Belgium, and the Netherlands up to latitude 53°00' N, measured from the baselines;

(b)the area bounded by a line joining the following coordinates:

(c)a point on the west coast of Denmark at latitude 57°00'N,

–57°00' N, 7°15' E

–55°00' N, 7°15' E

–55°00' N, 7°00' E

–54°30'N, 7°00' E

–54°30' N, 7°30' E

–54°00' N, 7°30' E

–54°00' N, 6°00' E

–53°50' N, 6°00' E

–53°50' N, 5°00' E

–53°30' N, 5°00' E

–53°30' N, 4°15' E

–53°00' N, 4°15' E

–a point on the coast of the Netherlands at latitude 53°00'N

–the area within 12 nautical miles of the west coast of Denmark from 57°00’N as far north as the Hirtshals Lighthouse, measured from the baselines.

2.2The following vessels are permitted to fish in the area referred to in point 2.1:

–vessels whose engine power does not exceed 221kW using demersal trawls or Danish seines;

–paired vessels whose combined engine power does not exceed 221kW at any time using demersal pair trawls;

–vessels whose engine power exceeds 221kW shall be permitted to use demersal trawls or Danish seine, and paired vessels whose combined engine power exceeds 221kW shall be permitted to use demersal pair trawls provided that such vessels do not engage in directed fishing for plaice and sole and respect the relevant mesh size rules contained in Part B of this Annex.

3.Restrictions on the use of beam trawls within 12 miles of the coast of the United Kingdom

3.1Vessels shall be prohibited from using any beam trawl inside the areas within 12 miles of the coasts of the United Kingdom, measured from the baselines of the territorial waters.

3.2By way of derogation from point 3.1, fishing with beam trawls within the specified area shall be permitted provided that:

–The engine power of the vessels does not exceed 221Kw and overall length does not exceed 24 metres; and

–The beam length or aggregated beam length, measured as the sum of each beam is no more than 9 metres, or cannot be extended to a length greater than 9 metres, except when directed fishing for Crangon crangon with a minimum mesh size of less than 31 mm.

4.Restrictions on fishing for sprat to protect herring in ICES division IVb

Fishing with any towed gears with a codend mesh size of less than 80mm or static nets less than 100mm mesh size shall be prohibited within the geographical areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 and during the following periods mentioned:

–from 1 January to 31 March, and from 1 October to 31 December, within ICES statistical area 39E8. For the purpose of this Regulation, that ICES area shall be the area bounded by a line due east from the United Kingdom east coast along latitude 55°00′ N to a point at longitude 1°00′ W, from there due north to a point at latitude 55°30′ N and from there due west to the United Kingdom coast;

–from 1 January to 31 March, and from 1 October to 31 December, within the inner waters of the Moray Firth west of longitude 3°30′ W, and in the inner waters of the Firth of Forth west of longitude 3° 00′ W,

–from 1 July to 31 October, within the geographical area bounded by the following coordinates:

–the west coast of Denmark at latitude 55°30′ N

–latitude 55°30′ N, longitude 7°00′ E

–latitude 57°00′ N, longitude 7°00′ E

–the west coast of Denmark at latitude 57°00′ N

5.Specific provisions for the Skagerrak and Kattegat in ICES division IIIa

5.1It shall be prohibited to fish with beam trawls in the Kattegat.

5.2 It shall be prohibited for Union vessels to fish for, to retain on board, to tranship, to land, store, sell and display or offer for sale salmon and sea trout. When accidentally caught within any part of the Skagerrak and Kattegat situated outside the four-mile limit measured from Member States' baselines they shall be returned immediately to the sea.

5.3It shall be prohibited to deploy towed gears with a codend mesh size of less than 32mm from 1 July to 15 September in the waters situated within three nautical miles of the baselines in the Skagerrak and Kattegat unless carrying out directed fishing for Pandalus borealis, or for the directed fishing for eelpout (Zoarces viviparous), gobies (Gobiidae) or scorpion fish (Cottus spp.) for use as bait.

6.Use of static nets in ICES division IVa

6.1It shall be permitted to use the following gears in waters with a charted depth of less than 600 metres:

–Bottom set gillnets used for directed fishing for hake of a mesh size of at least 100mm and no more than 100 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 25km per vessel and the maximum soak time is 24 hours;

–Entangling nets used for directed fishing for anglerfish of a mesh size of at least 250mm and no more than 15 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 100km and the maximum soak time is 72 hours.

6.2Directed fishing for deepwater sharks as listed in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 2347/20021 in charted depths of less than 600 metres shall be prohibited. When accidentally caught deepwater sharks shall be retained on board. Such catches shall be landed and counted against quotas. Where accidental catches of deepwater sharks by the vessels of any Member State exceed 10 tonne then those vessels may no longer avail of the derogations set out in point 6.1.

1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in ICES sub-area IV and ICES division IIIa, without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

2.Point 1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

3.Member States shall monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of the mitigation devices as described in point 1 in the fisheries and areas concerned.

Part E

Innovative fishing methods

The use of electric pulse trawls in ICES divisions IVb and IVc

Notwithstanding Article 13, fishing with an electric pulse trawl shall be allowed in ICES divisions IVb and IVc under conditions defined in accordance with the second indent of paragraph 1of Article 27 of this Regulation, regarding the characteristics of the pulse used and control monitoring measures in place south of a rhumb line joined by the following points, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

–a point on east coast of the United Kingdom at latitude 55°N

–east to latitude 55°N, longitude 5°E

–north to latitude 56°N

–east to a point on the west coast of Denmark at latitude 56°N

ANNEX VI

North Western Waters

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

Whole area

Cod (Gadus morhua)

35 cm

Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

30 cm

Saithe (Pollachius virens)

35 cm

Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)

30 cm

Hake (Merluccius merluccius)

27 cm

Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.)

20 cm

Sole (Solea spp.)

24 cm

Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

27 cm

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

27 cm

Ling (Molva molva)

63 cm

Blue ling (Molva dipterygia)

70 cm

Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Norway Lobster tails

Total length 85 mm,

Carapace length 25 mm1

46 mm2

Mackerel (Scomber spp.)

20 cm

Herring (Clupea harengus)

20 cm

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)

15 cm3

Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

12 cm or 90 individuals per kilo

Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

42 cm

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

11 cm

Red sea-bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)

33 cm

Lobster (Hommarus gammarus)

87 mm

Spinous spider crab (Maia squinada)

120 mm

Queen scallop (Chlamys spp.)

40 mm

Grooved carpetshell (Ruditapes decussatus)

40 mm

Carpetshell (Venerupis pullastra)

38 mm

Short-necked clam (Venerupis philippinarum)

35 mm

Clam (Venus verrucosa)

40 mm

Hard clam (Callista chione)

6 cm

Razor clam (Ensis spp.)

10 cm

Surf clams (Spisula solida)

25 mm

Donax clams (Donax spp.)

25 mm

Bean solen (Pharus legumen)

65 mm

Whelk (Buccinum undatum.)

45 mm

Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

750 grammes

Crawfish (Palinurus spp.)

95 mm

Deepwater rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris)

22mm (carapace length)

Edible crab (Cancer pagurus)

140 mm3,4

Scallop (Pecten maximus)

100 mm5

1 In ICES divisions VIa and VIIa a minimum conservation reference size of total length of 70 mm and a carapace length of 20 mm shall apply.

4 For edible crabs caught in pots or creels, a maximum of 1% by weight of the total catch of edible crab may consist of detached claws. For edible crabs caught with any other fishing gear, a maximum of 75kg of detached crab claws may be landed.

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the North Western waters.

Codend Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 120mm

Whole area

None

At least 100mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for hake or whiting. A square mesh panel of 100mm shall be fitted.

At least 80mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for Nephrops norvegicus or species not covered by catch limits. A square mesh panel of at least 120mm or sorting grid with a maximum bar spacing of 35mm or equivalent selectivity device shall be fitted.

At least 80mm

ICES divisions VIIa, b, d, e, h and j

Directed fishing for sole with beam trawls. A panel with a mesh size of at least 180mm fitted in the upper half of the anterior part of the net fitted.

At least 16mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

2.Baseline mesh sizes for static nets

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in North Western waters.

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 120mm1

Whole area

None

At least 100mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for sole or species not subject to catch limits

At least 50mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

Part C

Closed or restricted areas

1.Closed area for the conservation of cod in ICES division VIa

From 1 January to 31 March, and from 1 October to 31 December each year, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity using any towed gears or static nets in the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following co-ordinates, measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

–55o25' N, 7o07' W

–55o25' N, 7o00' W

–55o18' N, 6o50' W

–55°17' N, 6o50' W

–55°17' N, 6°52' W

–55°25 N, 7°07 W

2.Closed area for the conservation of cod in ICES divisions VIIf and g

2.1From 1 February until 31 March, it shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity in the following ICES statistical rectangles: 30E4, 31E4, 32E3. This prohibition shall not apply within 6 nautical miles from the baseline.

2.2It shall be permitted to conduct fishing activities using pots and creels within the specified areas and time periods, provided that:

(i)no fishing gear other than pots and creels are carried on board, and

(ii)bycatches of a species subject to the landing obligation shall be landed and counted against quotas.

2.3Directed fishing for small pelagic species with towed gears with a mesh size less than 50 mm shall be permitted, provided that:

(i)no net of mesh size greater than or equal to 50 mm is carried on board, and

(ii)bycatches of a species subject to the landing obligation shall be landed and counted against quotas.

3.Closed area for the conservation of cod in ICES division VIIa

3.1 In the period from 14 February to 30 April it shall be prohibited to use any dermersal trawl, seine or similar towed net, any gillnet, entangling net or trammel net or any fishing gear incorporating hooks within that part of ICES division VIIa enclosed by the east coast of Ireland and the east coast of Northern Ireland and straight lines sequentially joining the following geographical coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system

–a point on the east coast of the Ards peninsula in Northern Ireland at 54°30'N

–54°30 N, 04°50' W

–54°15 N, 04°50' W

–a point on the east coast of Ireland at 53° 15' N

3.2By way of derogation from point 1, within the area and time period referred to therein the use of demersal trawls shall be permitted provided such trawls are fitted with selective devices that have been assessed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). Where bycatches of cod caught by the vessels of any Member State operating within the areas referred to in point 3.1 exceed 10 tonnes then those vessels may no longer fish within that area.

4.Rockall haddock box in ICES sub-area VI

All fishing, except with longlines, shall be prohibited in the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

–57o00' N, 15o00' W

–57o00' N, 14o00' W

–56o30' N, 14o00' W

–56o30' N, 15o00' W

–57o00' N, 15o00' W

5.Closed area for the conservation of Norway lobster in ICES divisions VIIc and VIIk

5.1Directed fishing for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) and associated species (i.e. cod, megrims, anglerfish, haddock, whiting, hake, plaice, pollack, saithe, skates and rays, common sole, tusk, blue ling, ling and spurdog) shall be prohibited from 1 May to 31 May annually within the geographical area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

–52°27' N, 12°19' W

–52°40' N, 12°30' W

–52°47' N, 12°39,600' W

–52°47' N, 12°56' W

–52°13,5' N, 13°53,830'W

–51°22' N, 14°24' W

–51°22' N, 14°03' W

–52°10' N, 13°25' W

–52°32' N, 13°07,500' W

–52°43' N, 12°55'W

–52°43' N, 12°43' W

–52°10' N, 13°25' W

–52°38,800' N, 12°37' W

–52°27' N, 12°23' W

–52°27' N, 12°19' W

5.2Transit through the Porcupine Bank while carrying on board the species referred to in point 5.1 shall be permitted in accordance with Article 50(3), (4) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

6.Special rules for the protection of blue ling in ICES division VIa

6.1 From 1 March to 31 May each year directed fishing for blue ling shall be prohibited in the areas of ICES division VIa enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

Edge of Scottish continental shelf

–59o58' N, 07o00' W

–59o55' N, 06o47' W

–59o51' N, 06o28' W

–59o45' N, 06o38' W

–59o27' N, 06o42' W

–59o22' N, 06o47' W

–59o15' N, 07o15' W

–59o07' N, 07o31' W

–58o52' N, 07o44' W

–58o44' N, 08o11' W

–58o43' N, 08o27' W

–58o28' N, 09o16' W

–58o15' N, 09o32' W

–58o15' N, 09o45' W

–58o30' N, 09o45' W

–59o30' N, 07o00' W

–59o58' N, 07o00' W

Edge of Rosemary bank

–60o00' N, 11o00' W

–59o00' N, 11º00' W

–59º00' N, 09º00' W

–59º30' N, 09º00' W

–59º30' N, 10º00' W

–60º00' N, 10º00' W

–60o00' N, 11o00' W

Not including the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, which shall be measured according to the WGS84 system:

–59o15' N, 10o24' W

–59o10' N, 10o22' W

–59o08' N, 10o07' W

–59o11' N, 09o59' W

–59o15' N, 09o58' W

–59o22' N, 10o02' W

–59o23' N, 10o11' W

–59o20' N, 10o19' W

–59o15' N, 10o24' W

6.2A bycatch of blue ling up to a threshold of 6 tonnes may be retained on board and landed. Once a vessel reaches this 6 tonne threshold of blue ling:

(a)it shall immediately cease fishing and exit the area in which it is present;

(b)it may not re-enter either of the areas until its catch has been landed;

(c)it may not return to the sea any quantity of blue ling.

6.3 From 15 February to 15 April each year, it shall be prohibited to use bottom trawls, longlines and static nets within an area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

–60o58.76' N, 27o27.32' W

–60o56.02' N, 27o31.16' W

–60o59.76' N, 27o43.48' W

–61o03.00' N, 27o39.41' W

–60o58.76' N, 27o27.32' W

7.Restrictions on fishing for mackerel in ICES divisions VII e,f,g,h

7.1 Directed fishing for mackerel with towed gears with a codend mesh size of less than 80mm or with purse seines where more than 50 tonnes of the retained catch on board is made up of mackerel shall be prohibited within the area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

–a point on the south coast of the United Kingdom at 02°00' W

–49° 30' N, 2° 00' W

–49° 30' N, 7° 00' W

–52° 00' N, 7° 00' W

–a point on the west coast of the United Kingdom at 52° 00' N.

7.2 It shall be permitted to fish within the area defined in point 1 with:

–static nets and/or hand lines;

–demersal trawls, Danish seines or other similar towed nets, with a mesh size greater than 80mm;

7.3Vessels which are not equipped for fishing and to which mackerel are being transhipped shall be permitted within the area defined in point 7.1.

8.Restrictions on the use of beam trawls within 12 miles of the coast of the United Kingdom

8.1The use of any beam trawl of mesh size less than 100mm shall be prohibited in ICES sub-area Vb and ICES sub-area VI north of latitude 56°N.

8.2.Vessels shall be prohibited from using any beam trawl inside the areas within 12 miles of the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, measured from the baselines from which the territorial waters are measured.

8.3.Fishing with beam trawls within the specified area shall be permitted provided:

– The engine power of the vessels does not exceed 221Kw and whose length does not exceed 24 metres; and the

– The beam length or aggregated beam length, measured as the sum of each beam is no more than 9 metres, or cannot be extended to a length greater than 9 metres, except when directed fishing for Crangon crangon with a codend mesh size of less than 31 millimetres.

9.Use of static nets in ICES divisions Vb, VIa, VII b,c,j,k

9.1.It shall be permitted to use the following gears in waters with a charted depth of less than 600 metres:

–Bottom set gillnets used for directed fishing for hake with a mesh size of at least 120mm and no more than 100 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 25km per vessel and the maximum soak time is 24 hours.

–Entangling nets used for directed fishing for anglerfish with a mesh size of at least 250mm and no more than 15 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 100km and the maximum soak time is 72 hours.

9.2.Directed fishing for deepwater sharks as listed in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 in charted depths of less than 600 metres shall be prohibited. When accidentally caught deepwater sharks shall be retained on board. Such catches shall be landed and counted against quotas. Where accidental catches of deepwater sharks by the vessels of any Member State exceed 10 tonnes then vessels may no longer avail of the derogations as described in point 9.1.

1.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in ICES divisions VIa and VII d, e, f, g, h and j, without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

1.2.Point 1.1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

1.3.Member States shall monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of the use of mitigation devices in the fisheries and areas concerned.

2.Measures to reduce incidental catches of seabirds in ICES sub-areas VI and VII

Vessels fishing with longlines in ICES sub-areas VI and VII shall use bird scaring lines and/or weighted lines and where practical shall set longline gear during the hours of darkness with the minimum of deck lighting necessary for safety.

ANNEX VII

South Western Waters

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

Whole area

Cod (Gadus morhua)

35 cm

Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

30 cm

Saithe (Pollachius virens)

35 cm

Pollack (Pollachius pollachius)

30 cm

Hake (Merluccius merluccius)

27 cm

Megrim (Lepidorhombus spp.)

20 cm

Sole (Solea spp.)

24 cm

Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

27 cm

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus)

27 cm

Ling (Molva molva)

63 cm

Blue ling (Molva dipterygia)

70 cm

Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

Norway Lobster tails

Total length70 mm,

Carapace length 20 mm

37 mm

Mackerel (Scomber spp.)

20 cm

Herring (Clupea harengus)

20 cm

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)

15 cm1

Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

12 cm or 90 individuals per kilo2

Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

42 cm

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

11 cm

Red sea-bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)

33 cm

Lobster (Hommarus gammarus)

87 mm

Spinous spider crab (Maia squinada)

120 mm

Queen scallop (Chlamys spp.)

40 mm

Grooved carpetshell (Ruditapes decussatus)

40 mm

Carpetshell (Venerupis pullastra)

38 mm

Short-necked clam (Venerupis philippinarum)

35 mm

Clam (Venus verrucosa)

40 mm

Hard clam (Callista chione)

6 cm

Razor clam (Ensis spp.)

10 cm

Surf clams (Spisula solida)

25 mm

Donax clams (Donax spp.)

25 mm

Bean solen (Pharus legumen)

65 mm

Whelk (Buccinum undatum.)

45 mm

Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

750 grammes3

Crawfish (Palinurus spp.)

95 mm

Deepwater rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris)

22mm (carapace length)

Edible crab (Cancer pagurus)

140 mm (Regions 1 and 2 North of 56° N, ICES Division VII d, e, f)4,5

Scallop (Pecten maximus)

100 mm

1 No minimum conservation reference size shall apply to horse mackerel (Trachurus pictaratus) caught in waters adjacent to the Azores islands and under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of Portugal.

3 In all waters in that part of the eastern central Atlantic comprising divisions 34.1.1, 34.1.2 and 34.1.3 and sub-area 34.2.0 of fishing zone 34 of the CECAF region a gutted weight of 450 grammes shall apply.

5 For edible crabs caught in pots or creels, a maximum of 1% by weight of the total catch of edible crab may consist of detached claws. For edible crabs caught with any other fishing gear, a maximum of 75kg of detached crab claws may be landed.

Part B

Mesh sizes

1.Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in South Western waters.

Codend Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 100mm

Whole area

None

At least 70mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for Nephrops norvegicus. A square mesh of at least 100mm or equivalent selectivity device shall be fitted.

Directed fishing for species not covered by catch limits or red sea bream

At least 55mm

ICES division IXa east of longitude 7°23´48”W

Directed fishing for crustaceans)

At least 16mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

2.Baseline mesh sizes for static nets

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in South Western waters.

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 100mm

Whole area

None

At least 80mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for species not subject to catch limits

At least 50mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

Part C

Closed or restricted areas

1.Closed area for the conservation of hake in ICES division IXa

Fishing with any trawl, Danish seine or similar towed net shall be prohibited within the geographical areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

(a)from 1 October to 31 January in the following year, within the geographical area bounded by straight lines sequentially joining the following coordinates:

–43°46,5’N, 07°54,4’W

–44°01,5’N, 07°54,4’W

–43°25,0’N, 09°12,0’W

–43°10,0’N, 09°12,0’W

(b)from 1 December to the last day of February in the following year, within the geographical area bounded by straight lines sequentially joining the following coordinates:

–a point on the west coast of Portugal at 37°50'N

–37°50'N, 09°08’W

–37°00'N, 9°07’W

–a point on the west coast of Portugal at 37°00'N

2.Closed areas for the conservation of Norway lobster in ICES division IXa

2.1.Directed fishing for Norway lobster (Nephrops norevgicus) with any bottom trawl, Danish seine or similar towed net or with creels shall be prohibited, within the geographical areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following coordinates, measured according to the WGS84 system:

(a)from 1 June to 31 August:

–42°23′ N, 08°57′ W

–42°00′ N, 08°57′ W

–42°00′ N, 09°14′ W

–42°04′ N, 09°14′ W

–42°09′ N, 09°09′ W

–42°12′ N, 09°09′ W

–42°23′ N, 09°15′ W

–42°23′ N, 08°57′ W

(b)from 1 May to 31 August:

–37°45′ N, 09°00′ W

–38°10′ N, 09°00′ W

–38°10′ N, 09°15′ W

–37°45′ N, 09°20′ W

2.2.It shall be permitted to fish with bottom trawls or similar towed nets or creels in the geographical areas and during the period as described in point 2.1(b) provided that all bycatches of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) shall be landed and counted against quotas.

2.3.Directed fishing for Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) in the geographical areas and outside the periods referred to in point 2.1, shall be prohibited. Bycatches of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvgicus) shall be landed and counted against quotas.

4.Use of static nets in ICES sub-areas VIII, IX, X, and XII east of 27°W

4.1.It shall be permitted to use the following gears in waters with a charted depth of less than 600 metres:

–Bottom set gillnets used for directed fishing for hake of a mesh size of at least 100mm and no more than 100 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 25km per vessel and the maximum soak time is 24 hours.

–Entangling nets used for directed fishing for anglerfish of a mesh size of at least 250mm and no more than 15 meshes deep, where the total length of all nets deployed does not exceed 100km and the maximum soak time is 72 hours.

–Trammel nets in ICES sub-area IX used for directed fishing for anglerfish of a mesh size of at least 220mm and no more than 30 meshes deep, where the total length of nets deployed does not exceed 20km per vessel and the maximum soak time is 72 hours.

4.2.Directed fishing for deepwater sharks as listed in Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 2347/2002 in charted depths of less than 600 metres shall be prohibited. When accidentally caught deepwater sharks shall be retained on board. Such catches shall be landed and counted against quotas. Where accidental catches of deepwater sharks by the vessels of any Member State exceed 10 tonnes then those vessels may no longer avail of the derogations as described in point 1.

1.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in ICES sub area VIII and division IXa, without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

1.2.Point 1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

1.3.Member States shall monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of the mitigation devices as described in point 1.1 in the fisheries and areas concerned.

Vessels fishing with longlines in ICES sub-areas VIIIa and b shall use at least two of the following mitigation measures: bird scaring lines, weighted lines, setting the longline gear during the hours of darkness with the minimum of deck lighting necessary for safety.

ANNEX VIII

Baltic Sea

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

Geographical Areas

Minimum Conservation Reference Size

Cod (Gadus morhua)

Sub-divisions 22-32

35cm

Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)

Subdivisions 22 to 32

25 cm

Salmon (Salmo salar

Subdivisions 22 to 30 and 32

Subdivision 31

60 cm

50 cm

Flounder (Platichthys flesus)

Subdivisions 22 to 25

Subdivisions 26 to 28

Subdivisions 29 to 32, south of 59°

23 cm

21 cm

18 cm

Turbot (Psetta maxima)

Subdivision 22 to 32

30 cm

Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus)

Subdivisions 22 to 32

30 cm

Eel (Anguilla Anguilla)

Subdivisions 22 to 32

35 cm

Sea trout (Salmo trutta)

Subdivisions 22 to 25 and 29 to 32

Subdivision 26 to 28

40 cm

50 cm

Part B

Mesh sizes

1.Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the Baltic Sea:

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 120mm

Whole area

Codend and extension piece shall be constructed in T90 netting

At least 105mm

Whole area

A Bacoma exit window with a mesh size of at least 110mm shall be fitted

At least 16mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

2.Baseline mesh sizes for static nets

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in the Baltic Sea:

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions1,2

At least 157mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for salmon

At least 110mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for cod and flatfish species

Less than 110mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species

1 The use of gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets of more than 9km by vessels with an overall length of less than 12 metres and 21km for vessels of overall length more than 12 metres shall be prohibited.

2 The maximum immersion time for all the static nets referred to in point 1 is 48 hours except when fishing under ice cover.

Part C

Closed or restricted areas

1.Restrictions on fishing with towed gears

It shall be prohibited throughout the year, to fish with any towed gear in the geographical area enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

3.1. In order to fish in subdivision 28-1, vessels shall hold a fishing authorisation issued in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009.

3.2. Member States shall ensure that vessels, to which the fishing authorisations referred to in point 3.1 has been issued, are included in a list, containing their name and internal registration number, made publicly available via an Internet website, the address of which shall be provided to the Commission and Member States by each Member State.

3.3. Vessels included in the list shall satisfy the following conditions:

(a)the total engine power (kW) of the vessels within the lists must not exceed that observed for each Member State in the years 2000-2001 in subdivision 28-1; and

(b)the engine power of a vessel must not exceed 221 kilowatts (kW) at any time.

3.4. Any individual vessel on the list referred to in point 3.2 may be replaced by another vessel or vessels, provided that:

(a)such replacement does not lead to an increase in the total engine power as indicated in point 3.3(a) for the Member State concerned; and

(b)the engine power of any replacement vessel does not exceed 221 kW at any time.

3.5. An engine of any individual vessel included in the list referred to in point 3.2 may be replaced, provided that:

(a)the replacement of an engine does not lead to the vessel's engine power exceeding 221 kW at any time; and

(b)the power of the replacement engine is not such that replacement leads to an increase in the total engine power as indicated in point 3.3(a) for the Member State concerned.

3.6.In subdivision 28-1, fishing with trawls shall be prohibited in waters of less than 20 metres in depth.

4.Periods when fishing with certain types of gears is not allowed

4.1. Fishing with any towed gear with a codend mesh size greater than or equal to 90mm, or static nets with a mesh size greater than or equal to 90 mm, or with bottom set lines, longlines except drifting longlines, handlines and jigging equipment shall be prohibited in the following areas:

(a)from 15 February to 30 March in ICES Subdivisions 22 to 24; and

(b)from 1 July to 31 August in ICES Subdivisions 25 to 28.

4.2. Directed fishing for cod using drifting longlines within the areas and during the periods referred to in point 4.1 shall be prohibited.

4.3. By way of derogation from point 4.1, fishing vessels with an overall length of less than 12 metres shall be permitted to use up to five days per month divided into periods of at least two consecutive days from the maximum number of days absent from port during the closed periods referred to in point 1. During these days, fishing vessels may only immerse their nets and land fish from 06.00 on Monday to 18.00 on Friday of the same week.

5.Area restrictions on fishing

5.1. It shall be prohibited to conduct any fishing activity from 1 May to 31 October within the areas enclosed by sequentially joining with rhumb lines the following positions, measured according to the WGS84 coordinate system:

(a) Area 1:

–55°45′ N, 15°30′ E

–55°45′ N, 16°30′ E

–55°00′ N, 16°30′ E

–55°00′ N, 16°00′ E

–55°15′ N, 16°00′ E

–55°15′ N, 15°30′ E

–55°45′ N, 15°30′ E

(b) Area 2:

–55°00′ N, 19°14′ E

–54°48′ N, 19°20′ E

–54°45′ N, 19°19′ E

–54°45′ N, 18°55′ E

–55°00′ N, 19°14′ E

(c) Area 3:

–56°13′ N, 18°27′ E

–56°13′ N, 19°31′ E

–55°59′ N, 19°13′ E

–56°03′ N, 19°06′ E

–56°00′ N, 18°51′ E

–55°47′ N, 18°57′ E

–55°30′ N, 18°34′ E

–56°13′ N, 18°27′ E

5.2. Directed fishing for salmon with gillnets, entangling nets and trammel nets of a mesh size equal to or larger than 157 mm or with drifting lines shall be permitted. No other gear shall be kept on board.

5.3. Directed fishing for cod with the gears specified in point 5.2 shall be prohibited.

6.Restrictions on fishing for flounder and turbot

6.1. The retention on board of the following species of fish shall be prohibited where they are caught within the geographical areas and during the periods mentioned below:

Species

Geographical Areas

Period

Flounder

Subdivisions 26, 27, 28 and 29 south of 59° 30′ N

Subdivision 32

15 February to 15 May

15 February to 31 May

Turbot

Subdivisions 25, 26 and 28 south of 56° 50′ N

1 June to 31 July

6.2. Directed fishing with trawls, Danish seines or similar gears with a codend mesh size equal to or greater than 105 mm or with gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets with a mesh size equal to or greater than 100 mm shall be prohibited. By-catches of flounder and turbot may be retained on board and landed within a limit of 10 % by live weight of the total catch retained on board.

Part D

Mitigation measures for sensitive species

1.Measures to reduce incidental catches of cetaceans

1.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in the Baltic Sea, without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

1.2.Point 1.1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

1.3.Member States shall take monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of acoustic deterrent devices in the fisheries and areas concerned.

2.Special measures for the protection of eels

The retention on board of eels caught with any active gear shall be prohibited. When accidentally caught, eels shall not be harmed and shall be promptly released.

ANNEX IX

Mediterranean Sea

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

Whole Area

Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

25 cm

Annular sea bream (Diplodus annularis)

12 cm

Sharpsnout sea-bream (Diplodus puntazzo)

18 cm

White sea-bream (Diplodus sargus)

23 cm

Two-banded sea-bream (Diplodus vulgaris)

18 cm

European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus)

9 cm1

Groupers (Epinephelus spp.)

45 cm

Stripped sea-bream (Lithognathus mormyrus)

20 cm

Hake (Merluccius merluccius)

20 cm

Red mullets (Mullus spp.)

11 cm

Spanish sea-bream (Pagellus acarne.)

17 cm

Red sea-bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)

33 cm

Wreckfish (Polyprion americanus.)

45 cm

European sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

11 cm2

Mackerel (Scomber spp.)

18 cm

Common sole (Solea vulgaris)

20 cm

Gilt-head sea-bream (Sparus aurata.)

20 cm

Horse mackerel (Trachurus spp.)

15 cm

Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus)

20 mm CL3

70 mm TL3

Lobster (Homarus gammarus)

105 mm CL3

300 mm TL3

Crawfish (Palinuridae)

90 mm CL3

Deep water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris)

20 mm CL3

Scallop (Pecten jacobeus)

10 cm

Carpet Clans (Venerupis spp.)

25 mm

Venus shells (Venus spp,)

25 mm

1 Member States may convert the minimum conservation reference size into 110 specimens per kg.

2Member States may convert the minimum conservation reference size into 55 specimens per kg.

3 CL – carapace length; TL – total length.

Part B

Mesh sizes

1.Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the Mediterranean.

Codend Mesh Size1

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 40mm square mesh codend2

Whole area

A diamond mesh codend of 50mm2 may be used as an alternative to the 44 mm square mesh cod end at the duly justified request of the vessel owner

At least 20mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for sardine and anchovy

At least 14mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for small pelagic species with encircling nets

1 It shall be prohibited to use netting with a twine thickness greater than 3mm or with multiple twines; or netting with a twine thickness of greater than 6mm in any part of a bottom trawl.

2 Only one type of net (either 40mm square mesh or 50mm diamond mesh) is allowed to be kept on board or deployed.

2.Baseline mesh sizes for static nets

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in the Mediterranean.

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 16mm

Whole area

None

Part C

Restrictions on the use of fishing gears

1.Restrictions on the use of dredges

The maximum breadth of dredges shall be 3 metres, except for dredges used for directed fishing of sponges.

2.Restrictions on the use of purse seines

The length of purse seines and seines without purse lines shall be restricted to 800 metres with a drop of 120 metres, except in the case of purse seines used for directed fishing of tuna.

3.Restrictions on the use of static nets

3.1.It shall be prohibited to use the following static nets:

(a)A trammel net with a drop of more than 4 metres

(b)A bottom set gillnet or combined trammel and gillnet with a drop of more than 10 metres except when such nets are shorter than 500 metres, where a drop of not more than 30 metres is permitted.

3.2.It shall be prohibited to use any gillnet, entangling net or trammel net constructed with a twine thickness greater than 0,5mm.

3.3.It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 2,500 metres of combined gillnets and trammel nets and 6,000 metres of any gillnet, entangling net or trammel net.

4.Restrictions on the use of longlines

4.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels fishing with bottom-set longlines to have on board or deploy more than 5,000 hooks except for vessels undertaking fishing trips of more than 3 days which may have on board or deploy no more than 7,000 hooks.

4.2.It shall be prohibited for vessels fishing with surface-set longlines to have on board or deploy more than the number of hooks per vessel as follows:

(a)2,000 hooks when directed fishing for bluefin tuna;

(b)3,500 hooks when directed fishing for swordfish; and

(c)5,000 hooks when directed fishing for albacore tuna.

4.3.Each vessel undertaken fishing trips longer than 2 days may have on board an equivalent number of spare hooks.

5.Restrictions on the use of pots and creels

It shall be prohibited to have on board or set more than 250 pots or creels per vessel to catch deepwater crustacean (including Plesionika spp., Pasiphaea spp. or similar species).

6.Restrictions on the directed fishing for red sea bream

The directed fishing for red sea bream (Pagellus bogaraveo)with the following gears shall be prohibited:

–gillnets, entangling nets or trammel nets having a mesh size of less than 100mm;

–longlines with hooks of a total length of less than 3,95cm and a width of less than 1,65 cm.

Part D

Mitigation measures for sensitive species

1.Measures to reduce incidental catches of cetaceans

1.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in the Mediterranean Sea without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

1.2.Point 1.1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

1.3.Member States shall monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of the mitigation devices as described in point 1.1 in the fisheries and areas concerned.

2.Measures to reduce incidental catches of seabirds

Vessels fishing with longlines in the Mediterranean Sea shall use at least two of the following mitigation measures: bird scaring lines, weighted lines, setting the longline gear during the hours of darkness with the minimum of deck lighting necessary for safety.

ANNEX X

Black Sea

Part A

Minimum conservation reference sizes

Species

Minimum Conservation Reference Size

Turbot (Psetta maxima)

45 cm

Part B

Mesh sizes

1.Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the Black Sea:

Codend Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 50mm

Whole area

40mm square mesh codends may be used as an alternative

2.Baseline mesh sizes for static nets

The following mesh sizes for static nets shall apply in the Black Sea:

Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 400mm

Whole area

Directed fishing for turbot

Part C

Closed or restricted areas

Seasonal Closure to protect turbot

Directed fishing, transhipment, landing and first sale of turbot shall be permitted from 15 April to 15 June annually in Union waters of the Black Sea.

Part D

Mitigation measures for sensitive species and habitats

1. Measures to reduce incidental catches of cetaceans

1.1.It shall be prohibited for vessels of 12 metres or over in overall length to deploy static nets in ICES sub area VIII and IX, without the simultaneous use of active acoustic deterrent devices.

1.2.Point 1.1 shall not apply to fishing operations conducted solely for the purpose of scientific investigation which are carried out with the authorisation and under the authority of the Member States or Member States concerned and which aim at developing new technical measures to reduce the incidental capture or killing of cetaceans.

1.3.Member States shall monitor and assess, by means of scientific studies or pilot projects, the effectiveness of the mitigation devices as described in point 1.1 in the fisheries and areas concerned.

2.Restrictions on the use of trawls and dredges

The use of trawls or dredges at depths beyond 1000 metres shall be prohibited.

ANNEX XI

Outermost Regions

Part A

Baseline mesh sizes for towed gears

The following codend mesh sizes shall apply in the Outermost Regions.

Codend Mesh Size

Geographical Areas

Conditions

At least 100mm

All waters off the coast of the French department of Guyana that come under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of France

None

At least 45mm

All waters off the coast of the French department of Guyana that come under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of France

Vessels shall be prohibited from using any purse-seine on tuna and tuna-like schools of fish within 24 miles of the coasts of Mayotte, measured from the baselines from which territorial waters are measured.